Pauai Afele

Samoan

Chemistry and science teacher

“I really feel a driving force, a need for me to be here.”

"Chemistry and science have always been my passion," says Pauai Afele, who won a four-year scholarship in Samoa to study for a Bachelor of Pharmacy at Otago University.

As one of the very few Pasifika science teachers working in New Zealand, Pauai is driven to be a role model, helping her students to develop a love for science and encouraging Pasifika people to teach in the sciences.

Pauai was educated in Samoa and says, "I was encouraged to achieve by excellent teachers, some of whom were overseas volunteers and some Samoan. My parents and their achievements are also a key influence. My father is a school inspector and my mother a school principal in Samoa."

Working with young people is Pauai’s other passion. Her husband is Minister of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa which serves the Taita, Naenae community in Wellington’s Hutt Valley.

"We deal with young people in youth groups and Sunday school - our weekends in particular are very full."

Pauai and her husband have two children, aged eight and six, and the convenience of having the school holidays and working similar hours to her children is something else she likes about teaching.

"It is very important to me to be available to help my children" Pauai says. "When I qualified as a pharmacist I worked in a hospital, then in a community pharmacy. But the hours and weekend work were not friendly for me with a young family."

Pauai is also a Year 9 Dean which enables her to help and get to know students and their families. "At Naenae College we have a great system where Deans follow students as they move through so I will be with this group to Year 13." She also helps two other Samoan teachers to organise the college’s strongly supported Pasifika Culture Group.

"I’ve taught in other secondary schools but Naenae, with its large Pasifika student population, is where I feel I belong," Pauai explains. "Students can identify with me, my skills fit well and I can be a role model. I really feel a driving force, a need for me to be here."