NCEA and beyond: A tale of two students

NCEA results are out, and Pacific students are considering their options for the year ahead.

Eila Posimani-McCay, former head girl of Hamilton Girls' High School, says her results came a great relief.

“[There was] a sigh of relief, a lot of happiness. I told my Mum and she shed a few tears and everything. There were a lot of nerves leading up, but ultimately it was good.”

For Roger Maka of Kelston Boys’ High School, he hasn’t needed to check his online results yet.

“I passed almost midway through Term 4 because I took art subjects. They had externals too, it was painting and design boards. I knew that I passed those, but haven’t checked the paper exams.”

The NCEA provisional rates show a drop in pass rates for a third year in a row, and Posimani-McCay says the teacher strikes last year and ongoing pandemic has taken a toll on recent graduates.

“The Year 13 fatigue is real, just getting over that hurdle is, for a lot of people, the hardest thing.

“With the disruptions at the start of the year, it took a little while for us to find our feet, but towards the end of year everyone settled down, and maybe we didn’t do as well as we’d hoped, but we’re all done, which is the main thing.

“I know a lot of people who don’t really know what they’re doing or didn’t quite get the result that they wanted so they’re not sure where to go from here, but I guess it’s a learning experience for everyone.”

Maka (Puke, Masilamea, Hofoa & Ngele'ia) took Classical Studies, Math, Painting, and Design, his school also offered Police Academy as a subject option.

“This was teaching us how to get into the police, keeping up with fitness, writing reports and the teacher also got us into a course for a forklift license which was 14 credits."

Now that he's finished school, Maka is hopeful he can help provide for his family.

“I was going to join AUT at the start of the year, but my family’s having troubles with money so I want to work for the first part of the year, and try and join AUT around the second semester.

“I’ve applied for different jobs around my area, but most of the jobs I’ve applied for haven’t got back to me. I’ve asked my uncle, because he works at Mainfreight, to get me a job around there, I’m just waiting for his answer.”

Meanwhile, Posimani-McCay (Mutalau, Makefu) is looking forward to moving to Auckland in a few weeks, choosing two degree options that include her passion and family expectations.

“I’m doing a conjoint Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Pacific Studies and Music at University of Auckland.

“The law is kind of my safety option, but coming from an island family sometimes it feels like the expectation is to do something like law or medicine … I’ve always wanted to be able to help people in my career, but then the arts side is something that I’m so wholeheartedly passionate about.”

Eila Posimani-McCay after her performance with the NZSO. Photo/Supplied.

She’s a successful musician, playing the flute and singing in a barbershop chorus. In 2022, Posimani-McCay was selected to perform one of her compositions with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

“As an orchestra kid and a songwriter, that was the absolute dream. I got a gown made that was inspired by Niuean heritage, and it was so cool because we don’t see enough representation of our people in those spaces.”

Maka says he will reconsider study options in a few months’ time, after he’s been working for a while. When the time is right, he hopes to pursue his own creative dreams.

“Getting to start my own brand, designing clothing, mostly t-shirts. I’ve helped my uncle with his brand designs.”