Graduating from a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from The University of Auckland School of Medicine she says it’s been a tough journey but the scholarship is an acknowledgement of her parents who helped her get through her studies.

“I cried when I found out I received the scholarship. My family sacrificed a lot to get me into my medical career and this was a real acknowledgement of their support.”

“My parents tried very hard for me not to feel the burden of our financial struggles but you could kind of see it in their face. Now, that I have graduated I can see how tired they are and how much they have aged because of the hard work they put into us.”

The eldest of five siblings, Mikaele and her family moved to New Zealand from Tonga in 2006. She says the financial hardship that comes with moving to a new country and difficulty of learning a new language were some of the challenges faced during her study.

“I worked at the Warehouse, that meant I had to sacrifice my study time, and so I failed a few of my assignments because of that.

“Coming from Tonga as well meant that I was not only having to learn English as a second language but I was also having to learn the medical terms that are a part of the degree, there was a lot of confusion but we got through it.”

As part of her postgraduate study, Mikaele is working as a health officer at Middlemore Hospital and is looking forward to expanding her skill set within surgery. She hasn’t utilised the scholarship yet but has plans to invest it back into the community and start a clinic of her own.

“That’s the dream…to set up my own clinic for everyone, but I also went back for my elective last year in Tonga so, I’m planning to go back to the Pacific and work in the hospitals there as well.”

“This scholarship means I’m also enrolled in the PMA programme so it allows me to be surrounded by medical professionals and mentors that can help guide me on my journey.”

The late Dr Leopino Foliaki was the first Tongan doctor in New Zealand. Born in a small village near Nuku‘alofa he moved his family to New Zealand in the late 1960’s. As well as being a doctor, he often filled the role of a counselor and assisted many Tongans to find jobs when they first arrived in New Zealand. He was a leader in the Tongan community and a pioneer in Pacific health issues establishing the Pacific Health and Welfare Committee in 1978 with Dr Papali’i Semisi Ma’ia’i. It was set up to remedy the need for ethnic-specific health services which were non-existent at the time. Since then it has become the backbone of many Pacific health initiatives. 

The Dr Leopino Foliaki University of Auckland Scholarship is worth $5,000 per recipient and is awarded to two Pacific male and two Pacific female students in their fifth year of studying a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) at the University of Auckland. 

All 2020 PMA scholarships are now open and applications close on Friday 3 July 2020. 

Please see the link to apply: 

http://pacifichealth.org.nz/2020-scholarships/

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Date: Thursday 4 June 2020