Medical student Nikora Wade uses his skills and strengths to give back to community
– By Nikora Wade with Amokura Panoho
Ko Te Ramaroa-a-Kupe te maunga — Te Ramaroa-a-Kupe is my mountain
Ko Whirinaki te awa — Whirinaki is my river
Ko Te Hokianganui-a-Kupe te moana — Te Hokianganui-a-Kupe my ocean
Ko Moria te Marae — Moria is my marae
Ko Ngāpuhi te iwi — Ngāpuhi my tribe
Ko Te Hikutu te hapū — Te Hikutu is my subtribe
I was brought up on a marae where manaakitanga, kotahitanga, whakawhanaungatanga, kaitiakitanga, all these values were shown to me. They have been my superpower.
It was Year 11 that I really, really started to think about the impact that I wanted to have in this world.
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I started seeing other issues in my teenage years, not just losing my nan’s and koro’s through ill health. I started losing my mates through suicide. For me, I wanted to change the ‘why’ this was happening.
So, I had this dream to be a doctor, but also this imposter syndrome happened for a while too, which led me to do nursing. Initially I sucked at writing essays, but I was getting A’s in the personal interaction with patients. That gave me the confidence to knuckle down and develop those technical skills, build my network of friends that were going to help me achieve my goals.
Nursing school was the place where I fostered my ability to use my vulnerability to help strengthen other people.
The trick with your korowai aroha is to realise that it’s never a one-way relationship, you can never just take from other people, and you can never just give as well.
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Nikora’s path to becoming a medical student
- Marae upbringing
- Active in Kapa Haka
- Bachelor of Nursing, University of Auckland
- Award for outstanding achievement in the Bachelor of Nursing degree
- Accepted into School of Medicine, University of Auckland
A version of this profile also appears in our upcoming issue of Careers with STEM: Indigenous. Sign up to our newsletter to receive updates on its launch date.
