Baskets Of Knowledge

Growing up in Auckland our guest this week grew up in a world where his identity was well defined as a young person. However, as he grew older and the kinds of people that lived around him changed this got him thinking about what his cultural identity was. Through this episode we speak to  Vitolio Niuloa about how he now proudly represents his Samoan and Niuean cultures. What this means to him and...

This week our guest is well known by anyone that is looking to work in the field of accounting or has an interest in this area. He is well known by many of the tertiary providers in New Zealand and Australia with the work that he does in engaging with communities through his employer MYOB. However, like all our guests Shailan Patel is way more than what his job title is. In this episode we talk ab...

Building a community is something that is innate to all humans. However, as humans we tend to marginalis some communities based on some variable be it race, religion, age, sexual orientation.  Our guest this week Angus Lonergan speaks about the passion he has for working within these communities. In his current role as the Child & Youth Engagement Lead with UNICEF   Aotearoa Angus gets to work...

Many people will know our guest this week from their work as being an activist, a columnist and a political commentator. OR you might know them for the work they were involved in with a banning of conversion therapy in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In this final episode of 2023 with Shaneel, we touch on those topics, but we talk more candidly about Shaneel just completing their Law degree with the Univers...

Our guest this week arrived in New Zealand from Malaysia as a fresh faced 17 year old to embark on her tertiary pathway. However, before navigating that she had to get used to the radically different culture that welcomed her to her new "home".  Anne Lim decided to try a law paper because she was looking for something that would get her problem solving and critical juices flowing. This p...

Growing up on a farm in rural Southland our guest this week speaks to usabout how she has navigated different paths in her life and has gotten to a place right now where she has found happiness. Happiness is a key theme of todays episode as Jess talks us through being a young person that was not sure what she wanted to study to finding a passion in science. BUT not just science for the sake of it...

On this week's episode our guest speaks about how seeing the inequalities while at high school fired her up to try to make a difference. Little did she know that the difference she was about to make was going to take her on a path that has seen her impacting the lives of a lot more people than she planned. Te Kahukura Boynton is the the host and owner of Māori Millionaire, but her story starts...

Our guest Nate Wilbourne this week has always been one with nature, it has been his norm. At the age of eight he planted his first tree which got him thinking about being a kaitaki for a place that he has a passion for, the land. This has led him to a journey that has seen him involved in a large number of organisations that are all focused on nature conservation as well as being an advocate and a...

As a young shy year 9 student our guest today would not have imagined that in a few short years he would be confidently speaking to large groups of people in a  public space. BUT what our guest did know was that the head students at his school were kind to him and were positive role models, and this was a goal he had, to become the Head Boy at his school.   Our guest this week  @Kaita Hummel  spea...

Imagine living in a world where you were unable to communicate as openly as you wanted, a world where people assume you can hear what they are saying but you can't. This is the world that this week's guest has had to navigate.   Hope Cotton, our guest this week speaks to us about growing up deaf. The impact of this was realised fully during the Covid-19 lockdowns when schools started to us...

Trigger warning. In this weeks episode we speak about Cancer, Self Harm, Depression, Mental Health. Please avoid this episode if any of these topics may have a detrimental effect on you.   Our guest this week started off our conversation with the line "and lots has happened in my life". This was a fantastic premise to this really wonderful, open, honest and emotive conversation.   Moving...

What was meant to be a 20 minute reflection ended up being a 45 minute podcast! In today's episode we talk to Tane about his busy year juggling coaching opportunities with honours research. We talk about the challenges and triumphs he has had in coaching, and how he endeavours to take these learnings into coaching for 2024. At the same time, we explore postgrad research and how Tane aims to pr...

This week's guest is a mover and shaker as they look to change the narrative around young people in New Zealand. @LolaFisher is a 15 year old that has challenged the norms that society has around young people. This started by getting involved in a photography course to pass some time, little did she know that this would change the trajectory of her life. Through that one course she was introdu...

Growing up in the beautiful East Coast in New Zealand in a tiny area called Makorori Beach, our guest this week speaks openly about her love for her community, her love for the area she grew up in and her love for being in the Ocean. Saffi Vette talks to us about how the classroom was not a place that she enjoyed, but while at school she grew to love the outdoors and embraced the competitive natur...

Having an entrepreneurial mindset has been the norm for our guest this week. From buying and selling parts through AliExpress to building his own wee iron forge, our guest speaks to us about how being a "nerd" is something that he has owned. We speak about balancing running a social enterprise scheme with his mate Owyn, while maintaining his study. We speak about the challenges and wins...

Living in three countries and about to move to her fourth, our guest this week speaks about the challenges and learnings she has had along the way. Her family have moved from India to South Africa to New Zealand each one place has had a formative experience for her. Rishita talks to us about the passion that has been ignited in her belly which first started when her mum "made" her give a...

Cast your minds back to when you were 14 years old. What were you doing? What were you thinking? Can you even remember that age? Our guest was applying to be on various committees and boards because she wanted to make difference. This week, Aarthi speaks to us about how she has not let her age stop her from being involved in things that most adults shy away from. She speaks with passion and lots o...

Storytelling has always been part of human nature. The use of stories has been used to capture the imagination, to highlight special topics and also used to entertain. Our guest this week has found his passion for storytelling through the use of the camera. Loyd grew up in a small town on a small island in the Philippines, it was there that his fascination for storytelling was ignited. Through sim...

Growing up in a low socio-econimic area our guest this week had the odds stacked against him from the start. However, with a mum that would not let this define his future and with the strength of determination our guest has gone on to break down barriers, doors and ceilings to get him to where he is today. In our chat, Jaxson Tautala-Hanita breaks down how saying yes to small oppurtunities along t...

Everyone of us has a time in our lives when we are so tied to an identity and for lots of us that identity is linked to a job/career path. This was no different for our guest this week. His identity was linked to his love for watching House MD, so it was very obvious that being a doctor was the identity he was tied to. However, this does not work well when you arrive at university and discover tha...

As a young person our guest this week speaks about how when the time came to leave school to go to university she just did what she thought she enjoyed and was the thing to do and off she went. She did well in her chosen course of study but also used her time at university to explore other interesting ideas. The shift that our guest speaks about happens when she went into the corporate world, whic...

A biology teacher told our guest at the age of 14/15 that she should think about studying genetics as she seemed to take to it naturally. That one conversation sparked an area of interest that now sees our guest, Ashleigh Stanners on the cusp of entering a Masters program that will incorporate her passion in this space. However, as you will hear in this episode this was and has not been a smooth p...

This weeks guest is a highlight as she speaks to us about her upbringing in a town that has both cultural and global significance. She speaks about her upbringing shaped her formative years. As we delve deeper into the conversation our guests explores the various learnings she has had as she has navigated life, study and finding her passion in music. Candice speaks to us about a wide range of topi...

With part two, we continue to discuss our guests in depth story on the journey that has gotten them to where they are today.  In this story, which is broken up into two parts, our guests Samad and Uzair talk about going back to live and learn in Pakistan how this became a defining moment for them both. We delve into being diagnosed with cancer and feeling helpless. We speak about mental health, we...

Born in Pakistan but spending most of their lives in Christchurch our guests this week share an in depth story on the journey that has gotten them to where they are today.  In this story, which is broken up into two parts, our guests Samad and Uzair talk about going back to live and learn in Pakistan how this became a defining moment for them both. We delve into being diagnosed with cancer and fee...