This week, I had the privilege of being one of three guest speakers at an 'Inspiring the Future' event at the annual Careers Expo, which went over a two-day period that many Auckland secondary school students attended.
In the session that I attended, there were students from the Deaf Education school and two other local high schools. The two other speakers were also women, with one who was a Car collision specialist (mechanic) and a Scientist.
It was also neat that my three children attended with me as well and gave their support, as well as having a look around at all of the stalls of different universities, Technology Institutes, various career pathways, with lots of giveaways too.
I was able to give a short 10 - 15-minute talk about being a (self-published) author/illustrator, and I was also able to share about my books and how I came about to writing ancient Samoan stories and illustrated the pictures too.
There was an opportunity to ask questions, and I was able to answer questions around why it's important and how I was aware that the stories that I had researched many years ago as a part of my first Master's degree could be lost if I didn't start sharing them in book form.
It was such an honour and privilege to be able to share my journey, and I was also able to thank the organisers for such an opportunity, as I often don't get the opportunity to thank them. I also like encouraging students to try their best at whatever they are good at as I remember thinking during my final senior year at high school that "my ambition was to have an ambition" as I wasn't sure about what I wanted to be/do.
Next week, I've also been booked to attend another school and am looking forward to sharing with them as well...
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