Every year, Te Herenga Waka’s Wellington School of Business and Government (WSBG) selects a top-achieving Pasifika student to win the $500 Adrian Wimmers Pasifika Prize. This year’s recipient, Taitaifono (Fono) Tamati, is majoring in actuarial science—and making history while doing it.
Fono says the role of an actuary, which provides financial risk assessment and management to both individuals and businesses, is extremely rare in the South Pacific.
“My aunties and uncles have had difficulty finding actuaries for their various government organisations.
“There are currently only two actuaries living in the entire South Pacific. If I pass my exams by the goodness and grace of God, I would be the third—and I aspire to be the first to meet this much needed profession in our country.”
As a first-year student at WSBG, Fono’s hard work toward his dreams is already paying off. In July, Fono was awarded the Adrian Wimmers Pasifika Prize to recognize his academic excellence.
“I was so shocked and overwhelmed with humility. What an honour it is for myself and for my entire family.”
Alumni paving the way
Fono’s prize was founded by Adrian Wimmers, a WSBG alumnus, former member of the Victoria University Komiti Pasifika, and current Deputy Chair of the Fale Malae Trust. Adrian was the first in his family to attend university after his parents immigrated to Aotearoa New Zealand.
“My tertiary education unlocked my whole career and life working both in the public service and at KPMG in NZ, the UK and the Netherlands,” says Adrian.
“It has always felt incumbent on me to pay the benefit I received forward to others.”
That pay-it-forward attitude transformed into the annual Pasifika Prize, which has been running since 2015. Each prize cycle includes a sit-down chat over coffee between Adrian and the current year's recipient.
“It was a delight meeting Fono. His sense of duty to his family and country to do well in his studies was deeply impressive. Having coffee with the prize winner is always the highlight of the whole annual cycle for me.”
Hon Luamanuvao Dame Winnie Laban, Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Pasifika), and Professor Jane Bryson, Dean of WSBG, were also present for the meeting between Adrian and Fono.
“Adrian and I are hugely committed to growing Pasifika excellence and success in WSBG,” says Dame Winnie.
“I am deeply grateful for his generosity with this contribution, and especially for the recipients who are awarded it.”
Investing in Māori and Pasifika excellence
Adrian’s passion for empowering the Māori and Pasifika student community is rooted in his time serving Komiti Pasifika under the two previous Vice-Chancellors. When a university-wide analysis revealed that Pasifika student retention was low, he wanted to make a personal contribution to encourage young Pasifika scholars to stick with their studies.
“Because the prize is targeted at the end of their first year of study, I hope the winners realise there is a community out there—and within the university—who are invested in their success,” says Adrian.
“As a nation, we are becoming increasingly aligned with Māori and Pasifika communities within our national identity. We should be supporting that student community to aim high, because the returns they experience personally will also be returns to us as a country.”
Fono’s determination to serve his community is already paying dividends. By winning the Pasifika prize and meeting Adrian, he’s now inspired to become a similar role model in his future career.
“I have the greatest admiration for Mr. Wimmers,” Fono shares.
“I'm so grateful to have met a man that is full of charisma, passion, and love for people in general. I hope to be just as meaningful to many people in the future like Mr. Wimmers has been to me.”