Te Pōkai Tara o te Ao arrived safely in San Francisco ready to explore the NASA Ames Research Centre in at Moffett Federal Airfield.
The 10 Kāi Tahu taiohi and four tuākana were there as part of Āmua Ao, a programme led by Callaghan innovation and NZQA. It started with an empathy workshop and during the week taiohi got up close and personal with inspiring Stanford graduates from the School of Earth Sciences, School of Medicine and Stanford Computer Science Department.
Māia Wikaira, (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa) a mana wahine studying a master’s degree in environmental policy at Stanford shared her journey. On Tuesday the taiohi visited Facebook and FileMaker. They designed careers with Gary Bolles based on strengths and passions, looked at what the future might hold with Richard Kaipo Lum from the University of Hawai’i , got a glimpse from the Mayor of Salina City of what it takes to run a city, experienced how labour intensive picking strawberries really is, and got some insight into the practical applications of technology to improve productivity and traceability.
They visited Uber and rewired their brains for success through the idea of growth mind-set and leadership training in a STEM environment. Whakawhanaungatanga was a highlight, not just among the Kāi Tahu rōpū, but also with the wider Āmua Ao whānau.
“I’m very proud of our rakatahi,” says tuakana Te Rau Winterburn. “They have represented Kāi Tahu and Te Waipounamu with honour. The amount of accolades that have come our way due to their respectful behaviour, their intelligence, their engagement, their confidence and the quality of their questions and their pride to be Ngāi Tahu has been astounding.”
“It has been an absolute privilege to see their growth unfold. They presented themselves with maturity beyond their years and with an assurance that they were the real deal and here to make a mark.”
Māia Wikaira (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa) shares her kōrero with the rōpū.
Kāi Tahu rōpū outside the Ames Research Center.