Annie Hawaikirangi’s Valedictorian Journey

In every WaiTech graduation cohort, there are those who quietly embody the kaupapa. Those who carry their own challenges while lifting the collective. This year, that person was Annie Hawaikirangi who is an Employment Coordinator in our Kōrure Whānau Frontline Services. Her journey to becoming the 2024 Valedictorian of the Diploma in Whānau Ora wasn’t defined by ease, but by sheer resilience and commitment to her mahi. What she overcame along the way speaks to the heart of Whānau Ora itself.

Annie Hawaiikirangi is a woman of resilience, inspiration and mauri. She shared a heartfelt kōrero that spoke to the journey of the graduates, the challenges overcome, and the kaupapa that will continue to guide them forward.

She described this year of study as both smooth sailing and stormy seas, where balancing whānau, mahi and learning often tested her strength. But standing before her peers as a graduate, she reminded them that they are no longer just students who just completed a tohu.

“We are navigators equipped with the stars of knowledge to now guide out whānau out of their unchartered territories - never the lifeboat, we are the lifehouse and so our journey really begins.”

Annie spoke movingling of losing her voice as a child after her father’s passing, and how a single teacher helped her find it again. That experience shaped her life purpose.

“Today my voice is advocating for those that cannot speak for themselves. The lesson of seeing beyond the obvious, recognizing the silent struggles of our whānau, and standing alongside them as they rediscover their strength and uphold their mana.”

She also paid tribute to the many heroes in her whānau who inspired her to push boundaries - from her Nanny’s card table grit to her mother’s sharp instincts, to her father’s rule on the tennis court: “Look like a girl but hit like a boy.” Whether on the professional beach volleyball circuit, competing, in national tennis, or working a Les Mills international presenter, Annie always carried that inspiration forward.

But it was Whānau Ora that called her home. “The spandex turned into 100% cotton, a forest green t-shirt with ‘Proud to be Māori.’” From delivering kai parcels and checking on whānau after Cyclone Gabrielle, to rolling up her sleeves on the BBQ, Annie embraced the mahi of service.

Most recently, Annie represented Aotearoa in Peru at the Pickleball World Cup - a feat achieved despite burnout and immense challenges.

“Burning the candle at both ends took its toll… what kept me moving forward was remembering where I came from, karakia to reconnect to my purpose and hone into the wisdom of those before us.”

In her address, Annie left graduates with three key lessons:

1. Resilience is built through adversity - setbacks are comebacks.
2. Our whānau are our greatest strength - nothing is achieved alone, no whānau gets left behind.
3. It is an honour to do this mahi - kōkiritia i roto i te kotahitanga, for a bright pathway for our people.

Annie’s kōrero paid deep tribute to her whānau, mentors, her fellow graduates, and especially her brother Pierre: “Where cancer doesn’t limit your aspirations and so this day I dedicate to you, we are a force in one.”

As Valedictorian, Annie captured the heart of what it means to be a Whānau Ora practitioner, proud, unapologetically Māori, carrying forward the collective strength of the people.

“We did it, we’re not done, we have only just begun - whānau here we come - tīmata!”