Amongst the graduands at Southern Institute of Technology’s 2024 graduation this week, will be master’s candidate Nadine Young (Ngāti Hauā), whose lengthy study journey with SIT has incorporated delving into her own life experiences to inform her research and complete her thesis for a Master of Applied Health Sciences (Wellness and Rehabilitation).
The born-and-bred Southlander began her first qualification in 2012; she moved to Invercargill with her then five-year-old son, to enrol in the New Zealand Certificate in Massage Therapy. Having been in manual labour jobs up until then, she realised study could provide access to a new profession. After the certificate, Ms Young continued on to the Bachelor of Therapeutic and Sports Massage, saying the experience was “amazing and challenging”. It was a busy time “… [being] a young, solo mum in my twenties, studying”.
Upon achieving her degree, the door serendipitously opened to further study when Dr Will Payne, Tutor at SIT’s School of Sport and Exercise invited Ms Young to study a second degree in 2016. Achieving the Bachelor of Sport and Exercise in a year, she said it was a better fit for her interests. “… It was another layer of learning, and it was more my jam, adding to my kete (knowledge and wisdom) around health, anatomy, physiology of the body.”
She also realised her affinity towards Māori health. “I was aware that many whānau Māori are not well and I wanted to help.” After completing this degree,” I felt better equipped to enter into that space of Māori health,” was employed by Awarua Whānau Services in a role providing whānau with tailored health plans. “It was very rewarding; it was about their holistic health and coming up with a plan with whānau, to support their wellbeing.”
At the end of 2021, Ms Young enrolled in the Master of Applied Health Sciences, citing a persistent former tutor who continually encouraged her return to study. “In my professional life, I’d quite often run into Will (Payne) and he’d say, ‘when are you coming back?’ It kind of stemmed from him.”
Ms Young recently handed in her thesis, Mana Mama: Exploring the lived realities of Hauora for young Mama Māori in Murihiku. Chipping away at it over four years, “working full-time, studying part-time, plus a teenage boy, … it has been fulfilling”, she said. “[It] has been transformative for me. I was greatly enmeshed in the research itself,” which covered women of all ages: “kaumātua (elders), through to young wāhine who had their babies last year.”
It was also personal; the process brought back many memories. “…There is so much of me in the research,” she said, adding “I lived [it]… I have walked that journey.” It drew on her own experience of being a young mum. “Sometimes it’s been hard to write because it’s been so emotional … it was challenging, but healing on the other side of it… I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.”
Through immersing herself in the research literature, Ms Young was reminded of the high value of wāhine in Te Ao Māori, “because we could bring new life into the world”. Also fulfilling was conducting the research with Kaupapa Māori Research principles. “It’s really important to share Māori research through Māori methodology,” she stated.
Ms Young said SIT has been a catalyst for her growth. “When you become more capable of critical thought – how you read, how you think, how you feel”, it influences a person’s whole life. “I’m very grateful for my time at SIT. Every year I’ve studied, I’ve grown a little bit more – personally, professionally …” SIT’s iconic Zero Fees Scheme has been amazing too. “Considering all the study I have done; I don’t have any student debt.”
Ms Young’s role since 2020 is as a public health kaimahi, covering all elements of whānau Hauora, with Nga Kete Matauranga Pounamu Charitable Trust (NKMP). “My learnings from SIT are so applicable to where I am,” she said. Through the flexibility of the master’s programme, she has pursued her interests. “I tailored all [my assignments] around Māori health… around things I’ve wanted to investigate”.
Now that her thesis was submitted, Ms Young was enjoying being able to relax. “I can read a book, instead of feeling that I’m supposed to be reading an article.” Looking ahead, she admits “I’m not quite ready to do a PhD yet”, however, she can see herself undertaking further research to take the current study to a national level. “I’m really interested in working with Iwi and Hapu to do that.”
Recalling in her high school yearbook she was voted “most likely to have 10 kids and be driving a van”, Ms Young has developed valuable self-confidence and a certainty of her own capabilities through studying. “…You can do anything. Anyone can do it if you set yourself up right, if you’ve got the right support. My whānau were so instrumental in me achieving higher education.”
“Education opens doors, and I’ll go through the doors when they open. I’m really excited for my future - to see where life takes me, and supporting better outcomes for whānau Māori.”
Ms Young’s academic endeavours were honoured last week at the SIT 2024 Award ceremony, with two awards: SIT Tohu Manukura Māori Award – the SIT Māori Leadership Award, and the SIT Outstanding Progress Award – for outstanding progress in a full-time, full-year programme.