Q&A with Laura Gemmell-Sinnott 2025 20Twenties Young Alumni Award winner
Laura (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Raukawa, Ngaruāhine and Waikato) graduated from Otago in 2021 with a Bachelor of Health Sciences in Māori Health.
She worked as a Teaching Fellow for the Hauora Māori major papers in the Bachelor of Health Sciences programme, which included the first opportunity for undergraduate students in the programme to be introduced to sexual and reproductive health for rangatahi through a te ao Māori lens.
Now in the final year of her PhD at Otago, Laura has presented at several conferences and received numerous awards and scholarships, including a Fulbright Scholarship, allowing her to carry out aspects of her doctoral research in the US.
Laura is an active contributor to her marae, a mama, and studying the reo Māori in her ‘spare time’.
Q: How did you react when you heard you had received the award, and what does it mean to you?
It was a huge honour. I couldn't have made it to where I am today without the support of my whānau, friends, and colleagues, who have been monumental in helping me throughout my studies. It's nice to know that I have so many people in my corner helping me achieve my goals!
Q: What path have you followed since graduation?
After graduating from Otago, I have worked in multiple roles while completing postgraduate study. I worked for the University of Otago as a Teaching Fellow and, most recently, at Health New Zealand, which has been incredible for putting theory and what I learned in undergrad into practice.
I am now back at Otago in my final year of my PhD, growing my skills in health policy and sexual and reproductive health to contribute to better health outcomes for Māori.
Q: What inspires and motivates you to work in the areas you are involved with?
Sexual and reproductive health is such an important part of our everyday lives, but most of the time it gets treated as something we can't talk about.
Working in this area, I want to ensure that we have the right tools and mechanisms in place to better support our communities. There is a huge opportunity in this space right now to really do good by our people.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
My focus right now is on growing my skills in public health so I can be of better use to my communities. There is so much work and learning to be done, and I want to make sure I am well equipped to truly contribute.
I'm also focusing on my whānau – giving them some well-needed downtime after several years of study and growing our whānau together.
Q: Tell us about the highlights of your time at Otago, and how it has influenced you in your career and following your interests?
Otago has been incredible. I am so fortunate to have had such a good support system that really made the difference for me.
Otago helped shape my career and opened up so many opportunities, and it has been a huge support as I balanced studies and whānau. I look forward to continuing to give back to the Otago community, so others know just how wonderful it has been for me too.