The mother of two has dedicated the majority of her working life to supporting her people to thrive. During her 15-year career as a primary school teacher, she worked tirelessly to help Māori and Pasifika students overcome the barriers to learning and flourish in the classroom environment. Now she’s tackling these barriers from another standpoint, tutoring adults at Education Unlimited in everything from financial literacy to leadership.

“Ultimately I became disheartened with primary teaching, because the initiatives we had to carry out were not working – Polynesian and Māori children were still at the bottom and this weighed heavily on my heart,” says Victoria. “I saw moving into workplace training as an opportunity for me to try and uplift adults instead of children. It’s a chance for me to paddle my waka and keep going in the direction I’ve been sent on - if I can help change or influence the mindsets of parents, then maybe I might be able to help change the future for our families.”

Victoria says her people are “still stuck in the same place” and she wants to do all she can to change that trajectory.

“At school, my people are struggling and at work we’re still the labourers, we’re still not really progressing. I want to help people find ways to overcome barriers and boost their confidence. I want to help them find a voice and strengthen their self-belief.”

Victoria knows from first-hand experience the challenges of growing up not immersed in your language and culture, and the difficulties this disconnect can bring.

“My mum is from Poutasi and was part of the first wave of Samoans who came to New Zealand in the 50s and 60s. My dad is of pakeha and Ngai Tahu descent, and I was born here in New Zealand, the youngest of five. None of us know how to speak Samoan – my mum never taught us, it wasn’t a thing back then. The only time I ever heard mum speak Samoan was when she was on the phone to relatives back in Samoa or when she was counting.  She had a brother and sister in New Zealand too and they also had kids. There are 13 of us in total and none of us speak Samoan.

“Language is so important to your cultural identity. Because we don’t speak Samoan, we can’t participate fully in our cultural celebrations, and we’re at risk of losing our stories and history. We laugh at ourselves and call ourselves plastic – we’re like Samoan barbies, we look the part but we can’t act it. We are stuck in the Vā, the space in between – and it’s a lot more common than you might think.”

Despite this, when Victoria decided to start learning a language recently, she opted for te reo Maori. Why?

“It was a hard decision but ultimately I thought I live in New Zealand and te reo is one of our official languages. I believe it is more relevant and is a language that can unify us all.”

One day she might take on the challenge of learning the language of her ancestors, but for now Victoria is happy to keep paddling her waka for the benefit of her people.

“Our culture doesn’t work on an individual basis – we work as a group and move as a people with our whole ancestry behind us. When you are Samoan, it’s not about rising up as an individual, we need the whole group to rise.”

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