Boot Camp for Maori And Pacific Island Trades Students
Working together to get the job done, from left, Rayne Hungahunga, Brock Kara and Sione Kaulave.
Nine Maori and Pacific students recently swapped bookwork for boot camp after being shoulder-tapped by EIT for their
leadership potential.
The students, enrolled on a variety of trades programmes, took part in the five-day boot camp held at Aramoana, tackling
a range of problem-solving and physical training activities, learning about team development and honing life skills.
Trades and Technology Head of School Todd Rogers says the group really entered into the spirit of the course, modelled
along the lines of those used by the New Zealand Army.
Accompanied by Todd and other EIT staff, the nine camped out in New Zealand Army donated tents, slept on stretchers,
started their days at 6.30am with 45 minutes of physical training and pulled together to prepare meals.
Each student was put in charge for half a day, overseeing an activity.
From Flaxmere, 19-year-old automotive engineering student Rayne Hungahunga most enjoyed a hangi, a hike up a steep hill,
riding a quad bike and the teamwork. She says she would love to take part in another boot camp.
Brock Kara found it “well worth the pain”. Studying automotive engineering, the 18-year-old from Napier found hiking up
the hill was a highlight. He felt the experience boosted his self-confidence.
For Sione Kaulave, an 18-year-old from Flaxmere who is studying plumbing and gas-fitting, the standout was “getting to
the top of the mountain”.
Flaxmere carpentry student Cerise Wilson, 18, says boot camp was an opportunity that will help her in the long run.
Todd told the students that they’d been put on a pedestal in being singled out for the experience and that they
shouldn’t leave what they’d learnt out in the field.
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