Pacific Island Leaders of Tomorrow - Yr 13

Pacific Island Leaders of Tomorrow (PILOT) - Year 13

On Wednesday, 10th April, Ben Bentley 13CS, Timothy Mafi 13CH, Moana Olive 13DU, Jonathan Pa’u 13TL, Tiana Poliko 13 TL, Sione TOHI 13HO, Ili Waqabitu 13HO and myself went over to Massey University (Albany campus) for the PILOT workshop.

Some of us have attended PILOT since our junior years, so It was amazing to recognise our personal development over the years in the PILOT programme which is a culturally-based and community-focused leadership empowerment and development, created to increase the number of emerging leaders in the Pacific Island community. 

The theme this year was “Progression” which is all about growing together through sharing knowledge, preserving culture, protecting the environment, empowering communities economically and improving education. It’s about building a better future while staying true to our roots and working together for the well-being of everyone. 

We were warmly welcomed on campus, then entered the studio where Lani Iva and ex-PILOT alumni introduced Charlotte Veikune, again an ex-PILOT alumni (both in the photo with us) and  current Senior Manager, Development at Kainga Ora. She passed on invaluable knowledge, experiences and tips on how to navigate our way through our early stages of adulthood and reassured many in the lecture room who were still unsure with what they wanted to do with their future.

After being separated into two large groups, we were taken into different areas where we had mini-workshops led by Arizona Leger and other PILOT facilitators. These sessions were focused on who we are as individuals - our identities, heritage and values. What made us different? How do we want to be remembered? What keeps us grounded? The activities were engaging and allowed us to meet and share knowledge with Pasifika students from different parts of Auckland who have similar walks of life and backgrounds.

The day ended off with a PILOT-expo where we had the opportunity to talk with tertiary providers from Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT), Auckland University of Technology AUT, Unitec, Massey University, Otago University and various others.

I had mixed emotions about today being my last ever PILOT session, but I'm hopeful and excited that sometime in the future, I’ll see some familiar faces from this programme making great changes in the world someday.

I extend my gratitude to PILOT for catering towards our community and Mr. Talamaivao for making this happen for us, yet again.

Malo ‘aupito

Vainiaku Tupou 13GR