We were thrilled to have our Pacific Advisor, Pale Sauni, invited by Deputy Principal Fuamata Jessie Fuamata to speak at The Auckland Seventh Day Adventist High School in Mangere, South Auckland, as part of their Samoan Language Week celebrations. This event served as an opportunity to inspire staff and students through Pale’s personal journey as a Samoan leader in the education, health, and social services sectors. Pale noted the title of his speech Being a Samoan Success, Even When No One Notices! “It was themed on the Christian values that despite our willingness to succeed academically, physically, socially and spiritually, we could still achieve success even if no one noticed it,” said Pale.

Pale shared his background at this event, detailing his birth in Faleula, Samoa, and his family's migration to Aotearoa for better educational and employment opportunities. He highlighted the challenges he faced within the education system and how his parents' teachings in Samoan culture became a critical part of his learning and teaching strategy. Pale credited his parents' ability to educate him saying “This strategy was a game changer for my understanding of learning”.

Pale also elaborated on Ako Aotearoa's work in literacy and numeracy, and the importance of integrating cultural intelligence and awareness into the education journey for both educators and learners.

Pale’s engagement at The Auckland Seventh Day Adventist High School highlights Ako Aotearoa’s commitment to working within Pacific communities to foster educational success. He is now excited to be making a return to the high school as a facilitator for their private training sessions later in the year.

The team at Ako Aotearoa have been inspired by Pale’s contributions to the Pacific community and his ongoing work to enhance Pacific educational capability.

If you or your organisation would like to find out more about private in-house workshops please get in touch with us.