Te Waikura Walker

For Te Waikura Walker (Te Whakatōhea, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāti Porou), becoming a teacher was written in the stars. A graduate of the University of Waikato’s Te Ara Hou Te Ahikāroa programme, she is part of the third generation of teachers in her family.

Having finished her studies in 2024, Te Waikura is now teaching intermediate-aged students at Te Whare Kura o Kirikiriroa, a school which her grandmother helped establish and her father now leads as the principal. “For my family, education is huge. It’s part of who we are,” Te Waikura says. “It’s just natural for us to be teaching and learning every single day.”

Te Ara Hou Te Ahikāroa is a graduate diploma designed to prepare graduates to teach in Māori medium (immersion and bilingual) settings.

Te Waikura’s new qualification has given her the tools to follow in her family’s footsteps. “I love teaching, in particular our Māori kids. I get to contribute to the kaupapa of what my grandmother helped establish and what my dad is carrying on,” she says.

Of the learning environment in the Te Ara Hou Te Ahikāroa programme, Te Waikura says she valued being able to “do everything through a Māori lens”. “I got to do all my assignments in te reo Māori, I got to speak Māori every day to my teachers and to my peers,” she says. “The environment that the School of Education and Te Ahikāroa built was a really Māori environment, which allowed me to be comfortable while studying and being at university.”

Whaea Marama Reweti-Martin and Whaea Tammy Gardiner, who established Te Ahikāroa, get a special mention from Te Waikura, who says they were not only teachers but nurturers of the students.

When asked what advice she would give to other students wanting to follow her path into teaching, Te Waikura’s advice is simple: remember your why.

“Remember the reason why you want to get into education. And once you do, make sure you participate and contribute to the future of this kaupapa.”