“My grandfather got sick and unfortunately passed away due to a lack of knowledge about his health. I wanted to be an advocate not just for my family but for many others, especially Pacific families who may be struggling with the same issue.

After graduating high school, I went straight into studies at MIT. I chose MIT after attending a high school career day. I enjoyed the event and the learning spaces at MIT. The course itself was a challenge. Managing school, personal life and mental health was also a challenge. But I overcame it with the support of my family, friends I made at MIT, and the support services at MIT. Lecturers took time out of their lunch breaks and sometimes even outside of working hours to draw up mind maps and summarise content for us, which really helped a lot.

The people make MIT unique – most definitely. The diversity of cultures I got to learn about and be friends with was amazing.

My qualification has most definitely helped me in my career. I still use some content from my classes to help me remember the whys in my current job.

My advice is to attend every lecture, and if you cannot make it – always make the time to go and do some self-learning. Find YOUR way of learning.”

Linda Tolo
MIT graduate

“Nursing is a noble career, and if you really have a heart to serve people you should become a nurse. It’s a workforce that’s valued locally and internationally. I would encourage anyone who wants to pursue study to come to MIT. It’s in the heart of the community and they cater for all students at all abilities. Its warmth and approach radiate from the facilities to the lecturers, to the support staff.

I chose MIT because my family and friends strongly recommended MIT. It was also closer to home. I started with the foundation programme and moved onto the nursing degree. I am now a qualified registered nurse.

Prior to studying I was a primary school teacher in Fiji. I moved to New Zealand in 2011 where I worked in mental health caring for people for 6 years. This gave me the desire to do more in this area. I have always wanted to work in nursing and contribute to the health environment – I didn’t get the opportunity to do this when I finished high school. After looking after my children and extended family when they were unwell – I knew I had the skill to become a nurse and contribute to society.

I started my nursing studies at MIT Manukau. I loved the warm, clean, inviting and welcoming space. As a Pacific person the space MIT has created resonates with me and my culture. The learning suite replicates a hospital setting and sets the tone for the real thing, it’s what ‘doing’ looks like in a hospital. I liked the learning provided by the lecturers – the way they prepared their materials which was at the level students could understand. It wasn’t too overwhelming, and theory was simplified so we could understand it which made me want to learn.

My qualification and work placements with local hospitals and community-based health teams helped me into the workforce when I graduated.

MIT provided me with the right opportunity, at the right place, at the right time, and nursing gave me the opportunity to broaden my scope to support people. Why would I want to go anywhere else when there is such a good facility in the community.”

Lalita Nair
MIT graduate

“MIT is a great place to study. From the first moment I arrived, I felt welcome and like part of a big family. The small classes, great resources and support from our amazing lecturers kept me on track. They were always available when we needed help.

The practical skills I learnt at MIT gave me confidence during my placements and I graduated feeling well prepared to enter the workforce.”

Fono McFarland
MIT graduate

“I enjoy talking to people and connecting with people and when you get into nursing you have opportunities to do these things. I draw my motivation from my own family and wanting to give them the best care possible.

One of the main things about being able to care for our people is allowing them to live in that space and be themselves in that space. Studies have proven that a person gets better quicker when you are able to look after them holistically. So you’re looking at the person as a whole and not just the condition.”

Pauline Niu
MIT student

“I’ve found that giving forward is the best way to go. There’s always going to be a need for nurses and what’s a better way to help our Pacific people. A lot of our Pacific people don’t have a good understanding of health literacy. Being a nursing student and working part-time as a health care assistant I am able to help change this.”

Sapphire Satele
MIT student

“Having a profession where you can show your family that this is what I do, I think that’s really important for us. This morning I was saving someone’s life and at 3 o’clock, now I’m at home playing with my girls outside kicking a ball. That’s the sort of stuff money can’t buy and that’s the sort of stuff you get being a health professional.”

Sonny Te Wao
MIT student

“MIT is the finest. The lecturers leave no stone left to answer your concerns and are outstanding at their professions. They have incredible skill on their subjects.

MIT is full of diversity, and when you’re surrounded by such diverse people, you learn a lot, and you get a different perspective on things.

The curriculum has been great, but it’s the people who have made my MIT experience exceptional. When I initially got here, I was scared people would be reserved and solely focused on their academics. I’ve been astonished. The friends I’ve met here are my new family.

Nursing rewards me constantly. I’m learning and developing faster than I ever imagined. I feel wonderful when my patients recover and when I comfort grieving family members. I love being a nurse because I connect and help people at their most vulnerable, unexpected times. It is the most different feeling when you heal a person. Helping others feels good, and I get compensated for it. It’s my dream job.

I studied full-time with 2 kids as well as working. If I can do it, anyone can do it. Age is just the number.

If you dream to achieve something, MIT is the place to make that dream come true. MIT is your future, where you may study from the ground and then rise into the sky.”

Monica Sebastian
MIT graduate

“It was such a privilege to be in the Bachelor of Nursing Pacific. For me and who I am as a person, I was able to come in and meet people I could relate to with the same background, same values and same believes. They helped push me through my degree when I felt like I needed that push.”

Susana Gaiana
MIT student

“I chose to study nursing because I always had an interest in sciences, and I enjoy working with people, so it was an easy decision to combine the two and work in healthcare.

I chose to study at MIT because of the small class sizes. I really liked that the lecturers actually know their students by name, and you know the people in your class. I like the inclusive atmosphere on campus. Specifically, in my degree I enjoy the clinical placements, it is so exciting to actually gain practical experience in an environment where everyone wants you to succeed.

MIT is different because they are training students for the workforce. When you graduate you’re fully prepared to work in that field.

I would tell students that you need to be willing to commit. In order to get the most out of this experience, you must throw yourself in 100%, don’t make excuses for not giving it your all!

Three years seems like a long time but it will go by so fast, it is a lot of hard work, but it is so worth the time and energy in the long term.”

Jessie Gillatly
MIT student

“My time at MIT has been awesome and I made so many lifelong friends. The support MIT offers has helped get me here to graduation today.

Definitely come to MIT if you’re interested in doing nursing, they are so supportive, and you build a bond like a family here.”

Cassendra Veilofia
MIT graduate

“I chose nursing at MIT because I wanted to learn the new ways on becoming a nurse, and learn the things that I don’t know about, where it would lead to, and what I would become in the future. Becoming a nurse was the best decision that I made, and honestly there are no regrets. The main reason I chose to study nursing was to serve the health community, and make changes for our Pasifika people to create a safe environment.

Never give up on who you want to be. Never waste time on the things that you have planned for yourself. If there is a health career that you want, to make a change, make it happen for you. That is your career pathway, that is your life, that is your choice and opportunity. Don’t waste those chances.”

Tapulei Tugia
MIT graduate

“My mum encouraged me into nursing because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. She was working as a health care assistant in a rest home and in the community. She loved the work nurses do so wanted one of her children to get into nursing.

I did my own research and saw that there were loads of opportunities here and around the world – community nursing in GP practices, public health nursing, in-patient nursing, surgical nursing, transplants, emergency, plus nursing jobs with different working hours. You can build a solid foundation, and there are loads of opportunities including further study and career opportunities to build a future.

I really enjoyed the group activities with classmates during days that we didn’t have classes. We used to work together which helped us all succeed in our studies. You can’t get through it alone, you need support, ideas from your classmates. MIT had good spaces for us to sit in and work.

The lecturers prepare you well for your exams and they provide very practical learning. I’ve heard universities have heaps of theory, but most people learn through hands-on – I really liked the practical learning. I had a variety of industry placements to give me hands-on skills, including Middlemore Hospital (stroke and surgical ward), community mental health in Counties Manukau, GP practice community nursing, and Plunket.

In my final year MIT supported me to write my CV and with interview techniques, then they supplied my CV to 5 different DHB organisations to help me seek employment in the areas I wanted to work in.  I’m now working in public health and I love it because I get to go out into the community, build relationships, dig deeper and understand what I’m truly working with.

I would highly recommend nursing at MIT.”

Ziana Begg
MIT graduate

“I was an international flight attendant for Air New Zealand for 15 years. Covid happened and a lot of us were made redundant, so I decided to enrol in the MIT nursing programme. It was highly recommended by friends and people who have been studying at MIT.

I also think that nursing will be my way of giving back to society and the community even though it’s a paid profession but you care and support people when they are in a hospital or any healthcare setting.

I love the location of the Manukau campus, right in the heart of Manukau city and there is a good chance you will see someone you know studying at MIT. The student support services at MIT are fantastic.

MIT is a melting pot of students from different backgrounds and all walks of life. The diversity allows for students to learn about each other’s culture and way of life.

I think the challenges that most students are facing are working and study and how to balance that with everything else in life. I will have to say – plan your time and talk to your whānau and friends that you can’t be at every event, they will understand.

Nursing is not just working in hospitals, there are so many areas in health that one could go into. If I could do it in my 40’s, anyone could do it. I would like to work in a hospital first to hone my nursing skills before branching to other areas of health that I am interested in.

MIT is a great and fun place to study.”

Sione ‘Ulufonua  
MIT student

“I want to become the best Māori Croatian nurse out there.

Knowing there aren’t too many Māori nurses I wanted to show that we aren’t just the stereotype people make us out to be. I wanted to show my babies that if you want to be something, go for it.

I enjoyed the people, the diverse cultures, and the amazingness of everyone coming together to reach the same goals.

I am a very hands-on learner so being able to get out there and put what I have learnt into practice makes the learning a lot easier. It has been tough, and I couldn’t have done it without the good support from my fellow students and family.

MIT and Te Ara Oranga provided me with a safe space and friendly staff/lecturers that were willing to help me reach my goal. They knew my situation. They knew I was struggling with my babies, and I’m annoying with questions, but any question I had they would answer and even if that person didn’t know they would find a way to get the answer. The most lovely staff – I couldn’t recommend anyone else.

My advice is ‘just do it’. You are never too old or too young, if this single mama of three can do it, so can you!”

Kayla Leef
MIT student