Being busy is nothing new for the 28-year-old.
As the current president of the University of Otago Pacific Islands Students’ Association, she advocated for a student vaccination centre on a Zoom forum that included Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield, as well as about 600 community leaders.
‘‘In Pacific culture that’s actually quite rude, because I’m young.
‘‘I don’t really have a status in a Pacific culture context, so for me to do that like that, to address authority like that . . .’’
But it worked. The next day she started receiving calls, and this week Te Kaika, a a partnership between Ngai Tahu, Arai Te Uru Whare Hauora and the University of Otago, vaccinated thousands of students at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
‘‘I have no regrets, but I’m sure my community wanted to kick me off the Zoom at that point.’’
She is studying for a master’s of business administration, and has an undergraduate degree in politics.
That degree will likely come in handy next year when she takes on her new OUSA role.
She wants to mobilise students, to give them an active voice and create more engagement between students and the university.
During her election campaign she was asked how, as a strong voice for Pasifika and Maori students, she could represent everyone.
‘‘For me it was just about me saying ‘yeah I am for ensuring that I’m approachable and open to all students, definitely, and around equality of voice, but there is still an inequitable approach that you still need to take in some matters.’’
She admitted she was a bit nervous about the job, as it was her first time holding a non-Pacific-specific role in that type of leadership.
‘‘For me it’s important that I make the effort to, beyond just sitting on the University Council, to be getting out there and be visible.’’
Ms Lama and her family, including her two sons, have lived in Dunedin for about four years.
She was born in Auckland and grew up in Christchurch before shifting to the South.
She has worked in the public sector, around Pacific health, sits on youth boards around the country, and has also done a lot of work to support the rainbow community.
She also worked with the royal commission into the Christchurch terror attack, as her family were Muslim.
‘‘That was probably one of the most humbling, and toughest, experiences.’’
After finding a community down here, she has no plans to leave.
‘‘I think I’ve just been able to really knuckle down and discover who I am here.
‘‘Finding a Pacific community, and especially a Tongan community, they’ve really been there for me.
‘‘And the beauty of this place is that not everyone’s close family, but they’ve embraced me like that and that’s where I want to bring my kids up.’’
She planned to study for her PhD next year, before hopefully moving into teaching and lecturing.
‘‘I think it’s a good place to bring a different school of thought.’’
