Alumni making waves—How a law degree unlocked the world
Nathan Hoturoa Gray's career has taken him around the globe and he credits his law degree for enabling him to turn his hand to a wide range of fascinating work.
Nathan Hoturoa Gray (Ngāi Tahu, Rangitāne me Waikato-Tainui [whangai]) graduated in 1999 with an LLB(Hons) and BA in Political Science and International Relations. He’s currently based in the United States, where he runs study abroad programmes for Michigan State University (MSU), the globally top-ranked university for education abroad. His CV also features governance, leadership, publishing (he has written seven books), communications, and journalism roles, as well as his legal work.
It’s an extensive resumé, and Nathan credits his time at Te Kauhanganui Tātai Ture—Faculty of Law for the remarkable breadth of his interests and expertise.
It’s been such a good degree to have because I’ve been able to pivot to so many different industries—the writing and the research skills have been incredibly useful to my career.
Nathan Hoturoa Gray
Nathan spoke to V.Alum the day after the recent US elections, which he’d been covering for New Zealand’s Stuff, including reporting from Kamala Harris’s final rally at MSU. He says he first got a taste for politics and law in high school, while in South Africa in 1993 on a Rotary Ambassadorial exchange, witnessing the build-up to that country’s first free democratic elections.
In law school, Nathan tutored and undertook a summer clerkship at Chapman Tripp. He was awarded a scholarship to UC Davis in California, where he completed the final semester of his law degree—that included a one-year working visa which allowed him to take up an internship on the island of Saipan, a territory of the US in the Pacific. He then got a job in Alaska for the large American law firm Perkins Coie.
While law was definitely a passion, drawn from observing his father’s 60 years as a senior partner of Chapman Tripp, Nathan didn’t feel fulfilled working solely in a legal environment. Travel, however, was something he loved, so he took his writing and legal skills on the road.
In 2002, Nathan became the youngest Westerner in history to walk and document the entire length of the Great Wall of China. He wrote a Penguin best-selling book about his experiences, and a documentary about the journey was showcased on the National Geographic channel.
He has covered many different global events including the Beijing Olympics, the Boxing Day Tsunami in Thailand and three soccer world cups.
I’ve travelled to 86 countries, writing for a range of international publications including National Geographic. I cut my journalistic teeth on a Māori magazine called Tu Mai, as well as Hollywood’s leading tax incentives and locations magazine P3 Update.
He eventually found his way back to Aotearoa and worked in law and journalism, but felt he wanted to give something back at a community level, too.
“Having experience in law—as well as the arts—meant a natural move for me was to explore governance,” he explains. “I spent five years on Te Waka Toi, the Māori Arts Board of Creative New Zealand, and three years on the Board of Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision [the former Film Archive]. I’m currently on the Board of DocEdge, which runs one of two Oscar-qualifying Documentary Festivals in the world, as well as a Ngāi Tahu Māori land trust in Koukourarata [Port Levy]. Having a law background has enabled me to apply those skills and formally contribute to the different communities I’m interested in.”
Another highlight of his career has been working for the Alan Duff Books in Homes Trust, which saw him give around 500 talks at schools across the motu. “It’s a brilliant organisation that has gifted over 15 million books, and thus was a unique opportunity to get into every corner of the country and show kids what’s possible. It was an incredibly rewarding time that showed me just how dedicated and hard working the country’s teachers are.”
Nathan describes his current passion as running education abroad programmes to inspire the next generation of leaders. Nathan and his wife developed a Conservation Medicine programme for Michigan State University where they bring groups of students to New Zealand, and have also run courses in Hawai’i and Switzerland. The Conservation Medicine programme takes an interdisciplinary approach to health by considering the relationships between animal, environmental, and human health through the lens of culture.
“The programmes help me to bring a Māori framework to conservation and show Americans the value in embracing an indigenous, intergenerational mind set,” he says.
“I also teach students how to use communication skills to get their scientific messages across to a wider audience. It’s been really good to give back to the next generation, in the same way all those amazing people at Te Herenga Waka did for me as I was coming up the ranks and trying to find my way. It’s hugely fulfilling work.”