Cultural and economic capital
CD was born in New Zealand and has lived in a working class, predominantly Pacific suburb of South Auckland all her life. She is close to her parents, grandparents and other members of her extended family spread across New Zealand and Samoa.
Although she is a first generation university student, her family places great value on formal education and CD’s older sibling is studying at university. While at school CD was active in several sports, as well as church and cultural groups, and had a number of leadership roles within and outside of school. Although she had never had a part time
job and was financially dependent on her parents, CD was keen to reduce the overall costs of her education and applied for several scholarships. Her family has always supported her study and career plans but did not always appreciate the amount of work involved or how they could be of help to her, other than by providing a stable home life, encouragement, and financial support. Although one of her parents is Palagi10, CD identifies strongly with her Samoan ethnicity, culture and traditions. While at school, she was involved in Samoan cultural activities and in a Samoan church her family attends.
Personal goals
The prevalence of chronic ill health within her extended family and the wider Pacific community, including diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, provided CD with strong motivation to study medicine and work within the Pacific community in New Zealand or in the Islands. She also enjoyed and did well in biology at school, and felt drawn to further study in the science field. She expected university to be hard work, but felt it would be worth it if she could realise her goal of becoming a medical doctor.
Academic preparation
At school CD was a diligent and determined student who was keen to do well academically. She liked science subjects, had a strong interest in health issues, and was judged the best-all-round student in her final year at high school. She did not believe that her (decile 1) school had prepared her as well as she needed to be prepared for university, particularly for her chosen field of study. She completed UE and the NCEA Level 3 Certificate with 97 credits in four subjects from the approved list, with about a quarter of all credits awarded with Merit or Excellence. Although she had clear goals, was encouraged to aim for university education, and had demonstrated leadership potential, CD was not confident that she would gain entry to medicine:
• She had selected relevant Level 3 subjects at school, including chemistry, biology, and calculus but, because her school did not offer the subject, had no preparation in Level 3 physics;
• She applied through a targeted entry scheme for Māori and Pacific students and although not accepted for the Bachelor of Health Sciences11 she was offered a place in the preparatory Certificate programme. This was a disappointing setback, but CD was determined to stay focused on her career goal and accepted the offer.
• For financial and family reasons, she needed to live at home and adjust to a lengthy commuting time each day. She was successful in winning three
10“Palagi” is a Samoan term for a Westerner or European.
11 At the university CD attended success in the first year of the BHSc degree is required for selection to the second year of the degree in medicine.
scholarships that covered her university fees, allowed her to contribute to household expenses, and left her with enough funds for books and other study expenses.
Work ethic / approach to academic study
CD came to university ready to work hard and stay focused on her main goal. She was determined to make the most of the opportunity the university gave her and she was academically engaged and committed to her studies from the beginning of semester one. She had good time management skills, attended all classes, and submitted her written assignments on time. She was prepared to put in the long hours, particularly when assignments were due, and was not easily diverted by others who were less focused on their studies. Knowing that distractions at home would lead to less productive study, she adapted to her situation by staying longer at university. She was aware that she needed to do well in the certificate programme in order to advance in her studies and worked hard in order to be able to do this.
Learning and personal support
CD appreciated the highly structured nature of the certificate programme, and the fact that learning support was built into the curriculum. The relatively small size of the student group and continuity of key academic staff provided her with a supportive group environment. Course tutors were approachable and fellow students shared similar challenges and aspirations. Even so, she felt that the amount and level of study was very demanding and she had little time or energy for anything other than her academic work. She started to learn to become more independent as a student but maintained close contact with her MATES mentor from school – a more senior student from a similar cultural background who shared her aim of becoming a doctor.
Transition experience
Although CD was initially disappointed that she did not gain direct entry to the Bachelor of Health Sciences programme, she took this setback in her stride and was prepared to do her best to step up the next year and eventually reach her goal. She had no familiar role models or anyone within her family network who had become a physician so she felt that it was all up to her, working hard and staying focused.
With limited cultural capital to draw on, CD focused on her personal resources to see her through the transition period and beyond. She was determined to succeed, and used her capacity to stay focused and work hard to achieve the best possible results.
Allowing herself to “drift off” or be distracted by less motivated friends was not an option she was prepared to contemplate.
CD’s academic preparation for university was less than ideal, especially for the highly competitive and demanding field of medicine, and she was acutely aware of the gap between her academic work at school and university level study. She therefore drew on all the help available through the certificate programme, making sure that she did everything within her power to do well. Her family was supportive and she could depend on them for accommodation, financial support, and practical help, but had to rely on her own skills and abilities in relation to her academic work. CD completed the first semester with a B+ average, and was determined to do better in the second semester.