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BOP Polytechnic graduates awarded Tawera scholarships

Friday 29 August 2014, 5:29PM

By Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology

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Offered to Māori students completing a bachelor’s degree in business, management or commerce, the Tāwera scholarship found two worthy recipients recently in Bay of Plenty Polytechnic graduates Ranui Samuels and Tamaku Pau'u.

These two exceptional business students are grateful for the $10,000 boost to their studies and to be recognised for the hard work they have put into excelling in their studies.

“It’s more that my effort has been recognised by someone who doesn’t know me,” says Tamaku, “They acknowledge that students need support. And they see something in me that I see as well.

Tamaku is currently in her third year of a Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) with the University of Waikato, taught in Tauranga through the Bay of Plenty Tertiary Partnership. Majoring in Accounting, Tamuku’s focus at the moment is on finishing her degree, becoming chartered and starting work in the field she is most passionate about: forensic accounting and Māori business.

“I love numbers. If I can help somebody with numbers then I’m more than happy to do that. I speak better numbers than I do English! It surprises me how many people don’t live within a budget – students included! I want to pass on that knowledge.”

Especially interested in assisting with Trust settlements, Tamaku knows it is important to place people of high calibre into those positions. “We need to ensure the next generation and next leaders and putting themselves in a position where they can help everyone. It’s about uplifting the next generation.”

Also in his third year of study, Bachelor of Business Analysis – Finance, student Ranui Samuels is already well on his way to forging his business empire.

“I love finance because it’s taught me how to think at the margin,” says Ranui. “All the dollars and cents matter. All those processes matter.”

Passionate about encouraging Māori into entrepreneurial roles, Ranui already has a lot of experience to draw on. The full-time student, dad and entrepreneur has been director of six different small start-ups over the years and currently has several businesses on the go including streetwear clothing label Rise, graphic design and branding company R&D Design Lab and a Māori food business which he plans to start up later in the year.

“Business is the new battlefield and entrepreneurship is the new skill set. I think that if young Maori were educated in these things they’ll pick up the challenge and run with it.”

“I look for opportunities and I don’t fear failure,” Ranui says. “At every point you get knocked down you have a decision. It’s not about winning the battle, it’s about winning the war. You have to get up again.”