Rāwinia Wikaira will graduate today with a Bachelor of Arts and Science majoring in Māori Studies and Ecology. Rāwinia is pictured ahead of Māori pre-graduation yesterday.
When your personal philosophy is to seize every opportunity that comes your way, life tends to be busy.
At least it has been for Otago tauira Rāwinia Wikaira (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai), who graduates today with a Bachelor of Arts and Science majoring in Māori Studies and Ecology.
“My mentality is pretty much, if an opportunity comes, take it,” she says.
And Rāwinia has certainly made the most of her time as an undergrad at Otago – racking up hundreds of hours of volunteer work, taking on summer internships, and even finding time for an excursion to Europe to sail on a deep-sea vessel – all while earning a degree that reflects her diverse interests.
“This is a really unique degree, and the two conjoint majors complement each other so well,” Rāwinia says.
“Many aspects of Te Ao Māori centre around conservation and the intergenerational transmission of taonga (treasures), one of these being the preservation of sustainable food sources (mahinga kai) and landscapes for uri (descendants).”
Rāwinia was able to incorporate both areas of her study in the volunteer hours she completed for her University of Otago Student Leadership Award (UOSLA) in 2024.
One of the main projects she completed for the award was organising a weekend trip with other Māori rangatahi studying earth sciences to visit her marae – Ōmaha Marae, in the Rodney District north of Auckland. The tauira were able to examine the ecosystems at the marae and explore ways that more consistent information could be gathered to better preserve them for future generations, she says.
“Being involved in kaupapa that benefits our community has always been close to my heart. Knowing that my work can contribute to the health of our whenua and support Te Iwi Māori feels incredibly meaningful.”
And if volunteering and studying didn’t keep her busy enough, Rāwinia also served as the Aka Ngākau (Social Representative) for Ngā Tauira o Te Kete Aronui (University of Otago Humanities Māori Students’ Association) in 2023 and tutored Animal Biology (BIOL112) and Māori Society (MAOR102) at Arana College.
She also worked as one of the Tētēkura (Student Leads) at the Sustainability Office, where she created podcasts related to Mahuru Māori, and helped run Te Oraka thrift shop and organise events such as Bike Grabs and Students for Environmental Action Super Swaps.
But perhaps one of the biggest adventures Rāwinia had during her time at Otago was taking part in the JOIDES Resolution Academy (JR) – an immersive experience for undergrads interested in earth and natural sciences – where they are hosted on the JOIDES Resolution, a deep-sea sediment coring vessel.
Graduand Rāwinia Wikaira, front right, is pictured with the Australian and New Zealand crew and mentors from the 2024 Fire to Flood JOIDES Resolution Academy. Rāwinia travelled to Europe to sail on the deep-sea vessel.
“I was lucky enough to attend the 2024 Fire to Flood JR Academy, which was different from other cohorts as the majority of us were from Indigenous communities and/or marginalised minority groups across New Zealand, Australia, and the Americas.
“We shadowed the everyday lives of scientists, engineers, chefs, and other kaimahi working on the boat. It had its own gym, movie room, and helipad!”
The students were first flown to Rome, Italy, where they did a geological tour of Mt Vesuvius.
“From there we hopped aboard the research vessel to go to Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. Once we landed, we learned about Dutch dykes and went on a boat tour of the canals.
“We had workshops and lectures from different Indigenous knowledge systems and experiences, and it was awesome to be in a room where the majority were Indigenous scientists.”
She then went on to participate in the ANZIC Geoscience Masterclass hosted by the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology.
“I am very much a give-it-a-try type of person,” Rāwinia says.
“I also want to be a tuakana for rangatahi Māori so they can see themselves in these positions and know that they can do whatever they want.”
Rāwinia Wikaira has been keeping busy since finishing her studies last year and recently went tramping on Rakiura, Stewart Island. Ecology field trips to places like the Catlins, Doctors Point, the Orokonui Ecosanctuary and Lake Takapō were a highlight from her time at Otago, she says.
Rāwinia has maintained her give-it-a-try ethos since finishing her studies at the end of last year.
“I’ve done lots of travelling this year. I went surfing and did some fieldwork volunteering in Australia, stopped in Rakiura (Stewart Island) for Easter, and will also have upcoming mahi where I’ll be looking at microplastic pollution within the rohe of Ngāti Wai (from Aotea to the Bay of Islands).”
Rāwinia won a special Māori graduate bursary to be the first New Zealander to join UK-based company eXXpedition’s project, which seeks to better understand where plastic pollution that ends up in the ocean has come from. She will finish the voyage just in time to come down for her graduation.
"We'll be going through the rohe of Ngāti Wai, which is where I whakapapa. As soon as I heard about the expedition I knew I had to apply as it’s a place where my ancestors travelled through on a regular basis for food and recreation.
“I’ve also been working with Auckland Council under the Mātātahi Taiao team, where rangatahi Māori who whakapapa to the Auckland region come together to plan and carry out kaupapa related to the taiao (environment).”
Rāwinia was due to graduate last December but was unable to due to a whānau incident. She’s making up for it today.
“My whānau are coming to my graduation and are going to watch me walk across the stage to get my degree. And my mum and some of my friends came to support me at my Māori pre-Grad yesterday.
“Both my nanas have health-related issues, so they were unable to fly to the graduation. However, I’ve been allowed to bring my hood and cap back to Auckland and we’ll be surprising them both with the outfit and will take some photos with them.”
“I really appreciate that all my ideas and creativity flourished and were nurtured at Otago through the Departments I was a part of, while also being challenged and pushed to think critically.” – Rāwinia Wikaira
Rāwinia, who is the first in her family to go to university, is grateful to her high school St Cuthberts in Auckland, who encouraged her to consider tertiary education. She decided on Otago after being part of the Uni’s On-Campus Experience in Year 13.
“This is where college students who whakapapa Māori stay at the University for about a week and are hosted by Te Huka Mātauraka (the Māori Centre).
“The support from Te Huka Mātauraka was unlike anything else compared to other universities I had visited previously. Following this trip, I applied for the Otago Māori Entrance Scholarship and received it, which is how this journey all started.”
Family is very important to Rāwinia and she’s incredibly grateful to her parents for giving her the space to attend a university at the other end of the country.
“It was very stressful in the beginning as it was all so new for them navigating having their eldest child away from home, so a big mihi to them.”
Coming to Otago helped her realise how important it is, especially for Māori, to be able to see themselves in degree-level roles and provide representation for the next generation,
“That became my motivation to continue,” she says.
“I came from a very urban Māori upbringing with a big disconnect from my reo and tikanga.
“So when I came to University, my perception of self and of my culture really shifted into something positive and meaningful.”
Rāwinia would like to acknowledge and give thanks to Kai Tāhu for the chance to learn and flourish within their rohe and to all the Otago lecturers and kaimahi she met along the way.
“I really appreciate that all my ideas and creativity flourished and were nurtured at Otago through the Departments I was a part of, while also being challenged and pushed to think critically.”
“He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. What is the food of the leader? It is knowledge.”
Rāwinia hopes to return to Otago next year to do a Master of Science.
“I’m currently looking for a supervisor for next year. My criteria are to be able to work on whenua and ecosystems that I whakapapa to, to incorporate mātauranga Māori, and hopefully to write it in te reo Māori.”
– Kōrero by Internal Communications Adviser Laura Hewson