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EIT Student Gets Back What She Puts In

January 10, 2017

Ngahuia Harris’s son Koea also has his eye on the ball.

EIT business student Ngahuia Harris enjoyed her Ngāti Kahungunu childhood, growing up surrounded by whānau on Waipatu marae. 

For much the same reasons, she enjoys working for P and T Contractors, a telecommunications company established a dozen or so years ago by her father, Paul Harris.  Based at Waipatu, in close promixity to the Hastings marae, the business employs a staff of 18 and a number of those are family members.

“It definitely has its pros,” Ngahuia says of working for the family-friendly firm.  “There is flexibility when your kids are sick or time off work is needed – it can accommodate those needs.”

She’s benefitted from that flexible approach herself this year, managing part-time work and caring for her baby son Koea while still achieving an A in her Fundamentals in Marketing course at EIT.  Adding the core course to those she gained two years ago means she now has her Diploma in Applied Business. 

Ngahuia’s study ambitions don’t stop there, however, and she is considering progressing to EIT’s Bachelor of Business Studies

“It’s definitely something at the back of my mind,” she says.

Having attended Mayfair School, Havelock North Intermediate School and Havelock North High School, Ngahuia started at P and T Contractors ten years ago when she was 19, “using a shovel” to lay telephone lines in streets and on domestic properties.  These days, her role is that of an administrator.

She put study on hold after Koea’s birth in early 2015.  Now, as he nears his second birthday, she feels he’s living up to his name, Koea meaning brilliant. 

“He’s really social and heaps of fun.  He’s a really good kid.”

She’s looking forward to further study and says the family’s main provider, partner Tane Cooper, is very supportive of that.

“I like coming to classes,” she says.  “There’s a relaxed feel and you can work independently, getting back what you put in.”

She also appreciates EIT facilities such as the library, its cafés and the different mentors available to help students.

For Kahungunu thinking about undertaking tertiary study, she says the first step is always the hardest.

“Once you are on campus, it opens up a whole new world.  Bit by bit, you realise there’s so much more you can achieve.”