New degrees will help others

Flaxmere woman Alexia Greening has embarked on a career specialising in Maori to help high school students struggling to engage, something she experienced as a teen.

The 27-year-old will be capped with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Maori from EIT on Friday, and is also studying for her Graduate Diploma in secondary teaching.

Last year she also completed a Bachelor in Maori performing arts from Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi.

Steeped in te reo from kohanga (kindergarten) through to intermediate school level, Ms Greening says she did not know what hit her when she reached high school and hopes to bridge that gap for others in the same situation.

"I didn't understand the teachers, couldn't read or write in English and my maths was very poor," she said.

"I was hard-headed during those years and wouldn't listen when my parents tried hard to help me with my homework.

"So like a lot of our youth who take the wrong path because they've never really fitted in to mainstream education, I found high school became too difficult and left at 15.

"As I got older, I went off track but was slowly encouraged by my mentor Pura Tangira to much better avenues, including kapa haka."

Joining the kapa haka group Te Waka Huia in 2006 was a turning point for Ms Greening, who's lineage is Ngati Porou, Ngati Kahungunu, Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngai Tamanuhuri, and Tainui waka.

"I love being Maori. I like being around my culture and interacting with people from other areas," she said.

She has been able to do this extensively through her involvement with Te Waka Huia for Te Matatini National Kapahaka, which was held in Rotorua in February as a four-day event.

Last year, Alexia moved to Hawke's Bay to study for her second degree.