This morning we were privileged to have Dr. Palatasa Havea join us at assembly for the start of New Zealand Leadership Week.
Dr. Havea grew up on the northern Tongan island of Vava’u and part way through his schooling moved to the main island of Tongatapu. Upon leaving school he worked for the Tongan Commodities Board who sent him to Massey University to study towards a Food Technology degree. Dr. Havea continued his studies and subsequently he completed a Masters degree with First Class Honours in Food Technology. Shortly thereafter, he was offered a PhD role at the then Dairy Board and he went on to receive Tonga’s first food science PhD.
Dr. Havea worked in the field of whey protein and is a pioneer in the use of whey protein in commercial products. The Dairy Board morphed into Fonterra, where he is now a Senior Research Scientist. Dr. Havea also has a number of prominent roles in the community. He is the Chair of the Amanaki STEM Academy, which a number of young Pasifika men from PNBHS are involved in, the Chair of the Health Research Council Pacific Committee, he has advised the Ministry for Pacific Peoples for many years and in 2018 Dr. Havea became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the Pasifika Community and the Dairy Industry.
Dr. Havea explained that despite frequently giving speeches and presentations to a range of audiences he found this morning’s assembly daunting as the audience was composed of New Zealand’s future leaders. His story is one which emphasises resilience and determination. Dr. Havea explained that it took him three attempts to pass Year 10, a prerequisite in Tonga at that time to move into Year 11. Such was the importance of education, persevering under difficult circumstances was essential, rather than giving up.
Dr. Havea also faced challenges in completing his degree, with his positive attitude and hardworking approach being the difference between failure and success. He explained that on completion of his undergraduate degree he was asked by one of his professors to write a paper detailing what was responsible for the change from being a failing student in his first year to him graduating with honours. Again Dr. Havea’s perseverance, determination and diligence – hallmarks of his resilience – were the key factors.
Dr. Havea left our young men with three key messages:
- They must realise the importance of working hard to gain academic qualifications for the betterment of society. Don’t give up when you face difficulty in your academic work – look within yourself to find the greatness that will drive your progress.
- We shouldn’t measure people by how high they progress in their careers; we should judge them by how low they stoop to help people who are struggling.
- We need young people to step forward and lead with good character.
Thank you to Dr. Havea for taking the time to give our young men some fantastic messages to start New Zealand Leadership Week 2019.
