{"id":30101,"date":"2022-08-15T14:31:16","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T02:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nzie.ac.nz\/?p=30101"},"modified":"2022-11-04T14:36:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T01:36:11","slug":"blog-cultural-connection-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nzie.ac.nz\/blog-cultural-connection-online\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Stay Culturally Connected Online: Terehia Walker"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
Terehia is NZIE\u2019s Cultural Support advisor. She is of <\/span>Maori<\/span> and Italian descent and is an active member<\/a> of the <\/span>T\u0101maki<\/span> Makaurau North Shore community.\u00a0\u00a0In this blog, Terehia <\/span>offers 5 tips to maintain a cultural connection while studying online.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Terehia reassures all staff and students of NZIE that \u201cno matter what…you’re in a safe cultural space.\u201d She provides NZIE staff, and tutors, with cultural training and mentorship, to ensure Maori principles are upheld in all that we do.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p> \u201cEmpowering, walking alongside the staff to get them to put the Te Reo Maori<\/a> goggles on, and to open their eyes that there’s another world out there – they don’t have to follow the path of the Western culture. And to just build the capacity of knowledge and confidence.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p> She says unity is one of the most important aspects of cultural training and guidance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Terehia has been working at NZIE for 10 years, and her role has always been evolving. When NZIE was an international school, Terehia was a tutor for a hospitality course. When Rob Marks, NZIE\u2019s Managing Director, heard Terehia welcoming her class with a karakia and song, he asked if she could deliver that in all classes in the future. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p> “It was about just bringing [the many different international students] together for the one purpose of learning. It was one way for me to show my culture, bring it into NZIE and bring the students together.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p> She found many links between M\u0101ori culture and the wide range of backgrounds of NZIE students. For example, her Brazillian students loved performing the haka.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p> “Everyone in the whole world knows the haka. So as soon as they know that someone’s doing the haka they come together really quickly: it doesn’t matter who you are.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Now, not only does Terehia support and mentor staff to deliver the correct cultural practices, but she also provides 1-1 support to students, as part of the Client Success Team.\u00a0<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The Client Success Team are guided by the Te Whare Tapa Wh\u0101 model<\/a>, a M\u0101ori health model developed by Mason Durie, where we approach situations by looking at ways to improve the four sections of Hauora (well-being). The four sides consist of physical health, spiritual well-being, mental & emotional and family & social.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>A Safe Cultural Space<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
A decade at NZIE \n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Using M\u0101ori principals to support students \n<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t