Lucky Hawkins

Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou

DATE: Friday 6 October, 1 pm-2 pm

Lifelong Learning

I te taha o tōku mama

Kō Hikurangi te maunga

Kō Waiapu te awa

Kō Ngati Porou te Iwi

Kō te Aitanga-a-Mate te hapū

I te taha o tōku papa

Kō Maungaharuru te maunga

Kō Waihua te awa 

Kō Ngāti Kahungunu te iwi 

Kō Pahauwera te hapū 

In 2016 I was working as a labourer at AFFCO Wairoa.  Every day when I went home my hands ached, knees ached, everything ached.  One day after a back injury and being on ACC I decided I had to do something.  The question was, what do I do?  I decided to sit down at my computer and look for an online or distance course I could do, so that I could still make a living.  Since then, I have completed 12 different qualifications, and am now in my second year of doctoral study.  I want to inspire others to take up the challenge of using tertiary education as a tool to transform their lives.  I aspire to be the best me that I can be, to show others that no matter what your situation, there is a solution. 

MY ASPIRATIONS

I am due to finish my Doctorate in Professional Practice (majoring in Education Studies) in 2024, or around about then.  Upon completion, I would like to see myself more immersed in a mentoring /motivational type role.  I am a second-chance adult learner, and have completed 12 qualifications online or via distance, all while living in a remote rural township, Te Wairoa.  I have changed my career from an AFFCO labourer, to a TWOA Manager of Education Delivery, and second-year doctoral student.  I want to inspire others to use tertiary education as a catalyst to create positive change within themselves, their whānau, hapū and Iwi.