Hailing from the island of Tonga, Dr Mausa says her parents were a big influence in her journey to pursue higher education. 

"My parents moved here from Tonga to provide better opportunities in education and professional life. They were proud farmers back in Tonga selling kūmara and watermelon - that was our main source of income.  

"I thought it would be a disservice to their sacrifice not to take up these opportunities. I recognised my privilege of growing up in New Zealand every time we visited our village of Fahefa in Tonga; many other families and especially children would yearn for the opportunity I had." 

Dr Mausa studied a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Auckland and says it was not until she left high school that she decided to choose that pathway. 

"I never really had a light bulb moment when I chose to pursue medicine because I wasn't surrounded by health professionals. No one in my family was in the profession so I had never considered it.  

"When it came to the end of Year 13, my Careers Advisor encouraged me to apply for medicine because I enjoyed the three sciences and loved the thought of helping others. I had a yearning for service and an opportunity for further studies so I went for it." 

In 2020, she was awarded the Dr Leopino Foliaki Scholarship and says it was especially helpful during her placement as she neared the end of her studies. 

"The scholarship helped fund my last year of medical school which was spent in Taranaki. I really enjoyed working there; must be the small village kid in me but I wanted to get more experience in rural medicine.  

"In these communities you can see the health inequities being amplified. At that time, there was a midwives shortage due to mandatory vaccinations for healthcare workers. I had the opportunity to utilise my training in O&G by helping deliver babies and running prenatal clinics." 

Reflecting on where she is at in her career, Dr Mausa is grateful for the experiences and learnings over the past few years and hopes to see more Pacific leadership in the health space. 

"Systemic barriers continue to be one of reasons why Pasifika peoples hold the statistics for higher levels of health risks and unhealthy behaviours. So I would love to see a future in which more Pasifika occupy spaces where our voices will be heard, especially in leadership."