By STACEY BODGER
Gerard Leasa scored 11 per cent in his mid-year maths exam. The fourth former at Sacred Heart College in Auckland admits he has never passed a maths exam and has not helped his chances by daydreaming instead of concentrating.
"I couldn't understand the stuff in class so I just used to give up - then I couldn't do the homework and then the exam proved I didn't know much," the 15-year-old said.
Then he joined a mentoring programme, along with 60 other Pacific Island fourth form students from Glendowie, Sacred Heart and Tamaki Colleges and from Glen Innes.
The Pasifika Leadership Fono (meeting) is run by school liaison officers from the University of Auckland, Unitec, the Auckland University of Technology and the Manukau Institute of Technology to encourage more Pacific Island students to aim for a tertiary education by giving them careers advice and helping them to choose School Certificate subjects.
Gerard's attitude has changed so much since joining that his friends now call him "the pakele" - Samoan for "the priest."
Since the two-day programme in June, with a followup workshop last week, Gerard has spent most afternoons at Sacred Heart's homework centre.
His aim: to get 50 to 60 per cent in his final maths exam, sit School Certificate maths and science next year, and then achieve his dream of becoming a carpenter.
"None of my family has ever finished school but I've decided I want to make something of my life," he said. "I want to make mum proud."
One of the programme leaders, Ezra Schuster of Unitec, said the fono had produced inspiring results. "Gerard is a shining example, but there are other kids who have been pulled back on track and have a focus for the first time."
Mr Schuster said Pacific Island students knew little about tertiary education and the programme was a way of giving younger students career guidance so they could choose subjects accordingly.
Glendowie College development programmes manager David James said students had shown "enormous" improvement. Three other Auckland colleges have asked their Pacific Island students to attend the programme next month.
Careers course lifts attitudes
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