100% pure hard work reaps award

Year 12 South Auckland student Denise Moka has decided to make a future for herself by knuckling down to some solid school work; an effort that won her an award at the Te Kura school prize giving.

Awarded a prize for a Māori student who has made the most improvement in their studies, Denise found her motivation following the realisation that she needed to start gaining some NCEA qualifications if she wanted to make something of herself later in life.

‘I’ve changed quite a few schools and came to a point where I thought this is it, I’ve got to buck up my ideas.  I just thought that I want to have a future,’ says Denise.

Denise began studying at Te Kura in early 2011 and worked hard at subjects including English, maths, computing and pathways (her favourite).  Supervised by her Nana, Denise found the flexibility and absence of social demands to be a real plus.

‘Working from home, I don’t have to worry about my social life and travelling to school which took up lots of my time.  I work when I want to work and even though school used to finish at three o’clock I can still work longer if I want to.’

Studying from home has had its drawbacks, though. 

‘I find it hard not having the teachers physically there but I’ve learnt to deal with it by making phone calls and sending them emails when I need help.  They’re always really approachable.  There are lots of distractions at home too like my cousins and other family visiting.  I just lock myself in my room,’ says Denise.

Denise credits some of her prize to her Nana, her learning advisor Suzanne Holgate and her liaison teacher Cecilia Young who have helped her along the way.

‘I always go to my Nana first if I have questions.  She usually roughly knows the answers!  Suzanne would always ring me too, all the time, to make sure I was doing my work.  I found that really good,’ says Denise.

Planning to continue studying through Te Kura next year, Denise is still unsure about what she wants to do in the long-term but has some high flying ideas.

‘Maybe I’ll be a flight attendant.  I like what they do and I think I’d be good at it,’ she predicts.