Lia Pa'apa'a
Bachelor of Education, 2003
Indigenous Schools Officer and Lecturer, Victoria University, 2005 -
Emerging Pacific Leaders Dialogue, 2006
"I have always felt an affinity with Australia's Indigenous people, even though my heritage is Samoan and Native American Mexican.
I was one of the first five students to do Nyerna Studies with Victoria University at Northland Secondary College. The course was a four-year Bachelor of Education with an Indigenous focus.
VU was the only place that would allow a non-Indigenous person to study an Indigenous course, which I will always be grateful for. I loved the sense of community that we had with such a small group. I not only gained friends, but gained sisters, and we all stay in touch. Some of us still work together.
Now I'm working my way through a Masters of Public Advocacy and Action at VU.
I was also selected to take part in the 2006 Emerging Pacific Leaders Dialogue, a professional development program for men and women with leadership potential. It was an awesome experience."
