Samoan nursing graduate Elijah Muaiava fulfills his grandparents’ dream

Elijah Muaiava with grandparents Maria Sylvia Ah-Cheung and John Muaiava. Photo / Supplied

Nursing graduate Elijah Muaiava’s plan B turned out to be an ‘A’ choice.

The 20-year-old has just completed his Bachelor of Nursing degree from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland, as part of the Māori and Pacific Admissions Scheme.

Recent research has shown top-quality healthcare is reliant on a suitable mix of people in the health professions, particularly in the context of Pacific and Māori. As a newbie health professional, Muaiava will join the 3.9 per cent Pacific nursing workforce when he starts his new role in January next year.

One of six siblings, the young Manukau man left De La Salle College unsure what his next steps would be; he contemplated medical school.

“I always knew I wanted to be in healthcare… initially I wanted to do med, I was thinking that’s where the big bucks are, I always liked science and biology in high school and I genuinely like helping people, as corny as that sounds,” he says of the importance of delivering tautua (being of service) to both family and the community around him.

But then he got his Year 12 NCEA results: “I was like, oh! Maybe I’m not cut out for that, just yet.”

However, a long-held desire from his grandparents to see their grandchildren pursue tertiary education was all the encouragement he needed to choose the next best thing – nursing.

“My grandparents wanted at least one of their grandchildren to go to university; while it started out as their journey, eventually it became my own,” he said recalling the emotional rollercoaster ride of university.

The first in the family to graduate from university, Muaiava says many times over the past three years (especially with the disruption of Covid lockdowns) made him question whether he would ever complete his studies.

“It was tough starting out, we couldn’t go into the hospitals, it was just theory. Once I was in placement [hospital] I genuinely loved the real-world learning and I learned to love nursing.”

He recalls the moment where he could finally sense that the career he had chosen would eventuate. “There was one challenging day, and I remember just taking a moment, thinking how tough the day was and then this patient said to me, ‘you’re going to make a great nurse’ and I thought well alright then!”

Buoyed by his faith and the support of fanau, Muaiava says the experience of university and in particular living on campus (after winning a one-year scholarship) has given him confidence to engage with people from all backgrounds.

“I guess I just learned how to talk to other people, who aren’t like me.”

But initially the 20km distance between home and the University, proved the difference between two worlds. The normally outgoing graduate had to navigate isolation and alienation as one of the very few Pacific people in an environment that was predominantly Pākehā.

“I think I stayed in my room for four hours straight that first night, before I rang my aunty,” he laughed.

With plans to undertake postgraduate studies Muaiava says it hasn’t sunk in yet that he has fulfilled both his own and his grandparents’ long-held wishes.

This article was first published in the University of Auckland news and is republished with permission.