Sue Stephens

Tēnei te mihi ki a koutou, he uri ahau no Waikato Maniapoto, Ngāti Mutunga ki Wharekauri me Ngāti Porou hoki. Ko Susan Stephens tōku ingoa. Ko au te Kairangahau (researcher) mō te kaupapa nei.

I am a researcher and a Kaimanaaki (Student learning Advisor) in Te Puna Manaaki, Te Toki Pakohe. Te Puna Manaaki is a dedicated learner support service available to all Māori learners delivered by a community of Māori support staff. I feel extremely privileged to work alongside our Māori and Pasifika ākonga. With awhi, tautoko and manaaki, I connect and get to know them on a very personal level. I love being part of their journey and hearing their stories, goals, and aspirations. On any given day my tautoko could be cultural, pastoral, social or academic and range from whakapapa research, Iwi registration, Te Reo Māori, hardship advocacy, well-being support, study groups, academic and assignment writing and research, APA referencing or Scholarship and StudyLink advice.

In my current research project I aim to understand the support experiences of NMIT ākonga Māori with Te Puna Manaaki. The strategic direction of NMIT commits to ensuring equitable access and outcomes for all learners – particularly under-served Māori, Pasifika, and disabled learners by prioritising them at the centre of everything they do, working towards equity for them, and responding to their needs and improving outcomes. We, therefore, need to understand our ākonga Māori and ‘unpack’ what support looks like for them and establish the motivating/success factors for them to complete tertiary study.

It is my honour to support our ākonga to succeed in their learning journey.

E koa ana te ngakau ki te manaaki ki te tautoko i o rātou huarahi mātauranga.

“Poipoia te kakano, kia puāwai” – Nurture the seed and it will blossom.