Graduate profile: Arahina Roberts
My drive and passion for this area is to contribute to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for New Zealanders, especially for whānau, hapū, iwi and Māori communities.
Asking questions is the key to a successful internship experience, according to a Bachelor of Health graduate who interned at Sport NZ last year.
Arahina Roberts (Te Akitai, Waikato, Ngāti Kahungungu) is one of 37 students who completed a Health Internship in 2021. Each student is placed within one of a variety of host organisations with a focus on health and wellbeing, to complete 70–80 hours towards a specific project.
Arahina completed her internship with SportNZ where her role was to unpack and summarise relevant findings from the Healthy Active Learning evaluation report. She says the project helped her develop valuable critical thinking and data analysis skills.
She enjoyed experiencing the work culture within Sport NZ where she had the opportunity to work and build connections with both head office staff as well as Regional Sport Trust staff. Through working and building connections with all staff she felt a sense of whanaungatanga (relationship, kinship) within the organisation.
Her advice for future students undertaking internships is “there is no such thing as a silly question.”
“Asking questions will ensure you are striving for a deeper understanding.”
Since completing her internship, Arahina has been successful in obtaining a full-time position in her field at Te Hiringa Hauora (Health Promotion Agency). As she takes on her new role, she is excited to put her skills into practice and the learnings from her Bachelor of Health with a major in Health Promotion.
Originally from Perth, Arahina moved to Wellington at the end of 2017.
When asked why she chose to study at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, she says “I was encouraged by a lecturer from the Māori academic staff, who was willing to support me through my Tohu Māoritanga. From then on I continued my journey of study through a Bachelor of Health.”
She chose to major in Health Promotion as she hopes to play a significant role in the community by advocating for better health outcomes for New Zealanders, and particularly, Māori communities.