Puawai Taiapa-Aporo.
To thousands of social media fans she’s known as "Hey Puawai" but Puawai Taiapa-Aporo’s new title will see her become the Web and Communications Assistant for Massey’s Office of the Assistant Vice-Chancellor Māori and Pasifika.
Ms Taiapa-Aporo, Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Kauwhata, Rakahanga (Cook Islands), joins Massey after two years working on the long-running Māori children’s television programme Pukana. She’s also part of the chart-topping band Maimoa Music which featured in its own reality TV show earlier this year and she has her own popular social media channel.
While working at Massey will be a change of pace for Ms Taiapa-Aporo, the fluent te reo Māori speaker is no stranger to the institution, having completed her Bachelor of Māori Visual Arts here and having strong ties to Te Pūtahi-a-Toi, School of Māori Knowledge, through her mother, lecturer Julia Taiapa.
Ms Taiapa-Aporo says she’s looking forward to using her social media skills to help engage more Māori in tertiary study. “I know my qualification has really set me on a strong path and I want to share that experience with others to empower them to give study a go and to dream bigger.”
Based on Ōtehā campus, Ms Taiapa-Aporo will work on lifting the online visibility of Māori and Pasifika at Massey.