Ashburton College student Uatifoti Saofai, winner of the Canterbury secondary schools’ Pasifika award for leadership and academic achievement. Photo Sue NewmanWhen top ranked Pasifika secondary school students from around Canterbury gathered at an annual award ceremony, there was one who stood out from the crowd, Ashburton College 17-year-old Uatifoti Saofai.

She had already been recognised as a high achiever on her own campus and on Tuesday night she was recognised as Canterbury’s top Pasifika student for both her academic achievements and her leadership skills.

No one was more surprised than Uatifoti when her name was called.

“There were 20 secondary schools there, all from Christchurch except me.

“They were all top achievers and when I was announced as joint top female student it came out of nowhere.

“To be honest, this was most unexpected,” she said.

The award was judged on examination results, academic achievements and school recommendation.

Uatifoti’s family moved to New Zealand from Samoa five years ago because her parents were determined their six children had the opportunity to receive the best possible education.

Moving to a new country and a new culture was quite a shock, however, she said.

“We came at Christmas time so we had a little bit of summer before the cold. We had been learning English at school but not every day language so that was quite difficult at the start.”

For the Saofai family, education is number one.

“Study is my recreation. My parents have instilled in me the importance of education. Other things are opportunity costs really,” she said.

“The focus has to be on school;  that’s the main reason we moved from Samoa.”

Her friends are all achievers, and that means they are friendly competitors who push each other to be the best they can.

Uatifoti enjoys maths, accounting and economics and hopes to study commerce at university.

Ashburton is now home, but she admits there is still a strong pull from the country of her birth.

“Samoa is still close to my heart. Every day I dream of going back but because New Zealand can provide such a good education, for me it has become my home. It is such a welcoming country,” she said..

By Sue Newman © The Ashburton Guardian - 9 March 2017