“I was seventeen when I wrote a spoken word poem called ‘Brown Brother’. It went viral and suddenly I became a public speaker. I was doing the same speech up to five times per week. It meant I arrived, did my speech and then left. But I craved interpersonal relationships.
This summer I helped mentor thirty two students who’d just finished high school through AUT UniPrep course. I got to know them on a really personal level. I wasn’t just sharing an inspirational speech and then walking away. We did a session around ‘labels’ given to us. Heartbreaking labels like dumb, useless and worthless came up. One of the greatest moments was when we found out the whole class had passed! They were clapping, screaming and jumping up and down. To be a witness to that moment when they fully realised how capable they were is a time in my life I will never forget.
My dream is to help as many people as I can. I have felt alone at different times in my life and want people, especially young people to know that there is always someone who has your back. If I can help anyone realize they are not alone then I know that I am walking in my purpose.”
