Radio NZ presenter, music producer and alumna Yadana Saw officially graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2004, but she says her time at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington was really like doing a Bachelor of Arts in life, “which was why my degree took a long time to complete!”
Self-described as a “terrible student”, Yadana’s wide ranging interests were amplified when she arrived at the University in 1997 and quickly discovered student politics. Laughing, she admits the only reason she put herself forward as a student rep for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences was that faculty reps got a University email address, not a student one. “I thought yes, this is the upgrade I want”.
While studying politics and anthropology, Yadana was heavily involved in a myriad of student and youth committees. She joined the Education Action Group, alongside a few current members of parliament, “back in their more radical phase”. She served on the Student Hardship Committee, helped run the Food Bank and had leadership roles within VUWSA, initially as Sports Officer, before being appointed Welfare Vice President.
“This had a really profound impact on me. Working and meeting people whose experience with the University was vastly different to mine, understanding some of the barriers that people were overcoming to come and sit in those same classes as me. The lengths that people would go to and just how big those barriers were.
“That work led to me towards benefit advocacy and a whole bunch of other things that you don’t necessarily learn while studying towards a degree.
“When I graduated, I was all fired up to change the world and make it a better place.”
Yadana’s first job after graduating was as the National Youth Coordinator for Skylight. She then had roles in development education and as a youth advocate where she helped write a book about supporting young people through change, loss, and grief.
It was during this time that her interest in music intersected with her work in youth development. “I had always been a music person and a big music fan, but always as the observer, never an ‘in the band’ type of person.” She was involved in a project developing an educational tool for youth workers that used hip-hop to talk with young people about global issues.
After some time spent working in youth development, Yadana went on to do an Master of Arts at the University of Canterbury, and it was during this time that she really got into student radio, “It was always something I had wanted to do, but I was too scared to do it at Radio Active because everyone seemed too cool.
“The first time I ever hosted a music show I was like oh my god this is my dream, who was foolish enough to let me do this?”
Currently Yadana is a presenter and producer at Radio New Zealand. “It might seem weird to go from community grassroots activism to working in music, but the kaupapa remains the same. It’s talking to people. The highlight of working in this profession is having the privilege to share people’s stories. It’s an important way that we can learn and do better. I love what I do.”
Reflecting on her time at the University, Yadana says her experiences have helped shape her career. “I’ve got my dream job and it was a circuitous route to get here, so my advice to people is to say yes to everything and be open to anything. And that it’s okay to not have a clear path!”
Finally, Yadana has some thoughts for current students. “I’d encourage students to join clubs and societies, because that’s where you get to learn about real life. And you have real opportunities to be in charge of things, I just learned so much.”