PhD Indigenous studies with Awanuiarangi Wananga...

It's been a long journey since I first started my PhD studies firstly with Auckland Uni in the Geography department back in 1997 but then when getting married and starting a family, it went on to the back burner.

After our first child got a bit older I re-enrolled in 2004 for another shot with Auckland Uni but this time in Education but as I was pregnant with our second child and was diagnosed with hyperemesis I had to forego the studies and decided to take care of our children as my first priority and left the studies to the side.

I then completed a second Masters degree in Creative writing in 2012 at AUT University and then was set to continue with doctoral studies in Creative writing but then had problems finding a supervisor so then went back enrolling in with the department of Education in 2015 but as I started teaching in the Indigenous Research space, I knew that I wasn't in the right space.

Finally, last year I decided to look into enrolling into a creative doctoral programme at AUT that extended upon my creative writing studies and still with the idea to bring in my indigenous research perspective, however, when I went to start enrolling, again things didn't seem right so I held off until this year.

I guess you can say that it's been a long time coming with over 20 years of considering and re-considering. I now have been accepted into Awanuiarangi Wananga to complete my studies in the Indigenous studies doctoral programme and within the Creative space which is such a miracle as there has only been one other doctoral candidate who has completed a creative doctorate and has paved the way for me to complete my studies.

I can't express how happy and amazed I am to have this neat opportunity. It's definitely a prayer answered and now the really hard work starts in trying to knock this out in the next couple of years having already completed much preliminary studies throughout the past 20 years.

All I can say is that sometimes things don't happen it's for a reason that only God knows about but once opened it's an opportunity to begin finishing something that I've only dreamed about. Such a blessing and so thankful to God above!