2017-2020 / Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) (Manukau/Henderson Campuses)
My Laidlaw journey started in July 2017 at the Manukau campus. Due to the campus being small in number but BIG in heart and service, the Theology, Counselling and Teaching cohort were closely knit.
Through having core courses together, such as Human Development, Beginning Theology and Bicultural Relationships, we were exposed to new ideas, thoughts and multiple perspectives. Throw in shared lunches and free lollies from Anne at reception, and you've won the hearts of our Pasifika people.
In July 2018, the second and third year Education students had to sadly leave the Promised Land of Laidlaw Manukau in South Auckland and head into the "Wilderness" of Laidlaw Henderson. However, the love for God, for people and for the Gospel was still evident in and through the lecturers that we had. And again, free lunch on Thursdays brought the campus together.
Highlights throughout my time include shared lunches, Noho Marae (overnight stay on a marae), Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) camp and EOTC day at Taupaki and Muriwai beach, and my Viva in 2020. My Graduation in 2021 was another highlight. I remember Dr Roshan Allpress saying at graduation: "It takes a village to raise a child. It also takes the Kingdom to raise disciples.”
My time at Laidlaw helped me see myself in the eyes of the Father. The people and their stories were a testament to what the Father had reminded me through Philippians 1:6. There was a need for many of us to deconstruct and reconstruct our thoughts and ideas about God, people and education. In the words of lecturer Eunice Price: "Seek to challenge the status quo and disrupt the structures that make inequality and oppression possible."
After study, I relieved at Kedgley Intermediate School and at Papatoetoe North Primary School for Term 3 and 4 in 2020. I am currently teaching at Kedgley Intermediate School, Papatoetoe.
I am truly grateful to God for His call to educate, and to help inspire and awake a desire in the next generation for what the Father has in store for them.
I am thankful for the people God has blessed me with. He aha te mea nui o te ao? He Tangata! He Tangata! He Tangata! What is the most important thing in the world? It is people! It is people! It is people!
