Lectured with Andrea Perry

Film recommendations?

Hidden Life, not necessarily my favourite film, but one I really like at the moment.

Favourite musicians/bands and why?

U2.

What’s a cool book you’ve read?

American Dirt, such a thrilling and gripping story.

Choice of drink and why?

Everyday drink: Gin and Tonic;
Special Drink: a Pina Colada.

What would you do instead of lecturing?

Used to entertain the idea of working with Middle Eastern refugees who were arriving in Greece, so maybe something to do with that.

If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where and why?

Italy, it’s just so ridiculously beautiful, the buildings, the scenery, the art, the fashion, everything is beautiful, even the doorbells are beautiful. When I was in Florence, even the doorbells were made from ornately handcrafted wood. So, I’d probably live in Florence, Italy.

Any tips for uni students?

Be present in this moment in your life, you (mostly) don’t get it again, this is such a cool moment to learn and change and make lifelong friendships and so, don’t waste it, don’t miss the moment. Sometimes I get concerned, I know people need to work, but you do have your whole life to work, don’t let things take too much of your life, this is your time to get into stuff and really do things if you can.

What relevance does leadership have in our day to day lives?

Leadership has relevance all the time, thinking about how I can take the initiative here to make a positive difference, can be everything from sharing your enthusiasm for something to encouraging people to be involved in something. In a very broad sense of the word leadership, we can be leading all the time, by being willing to take the initiative to make a positive difference. It’s just such a super accessible idea to everyone.

You’re originally from Wellington – what does Hamilton have that Wellington doesn’t?

My family! It’s also a lot closer to the beautiful beaches I love than Wellington is. The weather is better too, usually 5 degrees colder in Wellington.

Something that’s changed your life?

My faith, that changes everything. I’m a Christian so that has changed everything, changed why I do what I do and how I do it, probably even sometimes more than what I do. I’m more focused on the motivation, the way I hope to do it, the approach I take with things. My faith has made me more centred on others than myself.

What were you like as a university student?

I was a girly swat. I was very disciplined with my studies, although my best friend from uni days would say “you’re so annoying” because I would get all my uni work done between the hours of 9-5 and I would never work on the weekends or evenings. I treated uni like a job in that sense. My boyfriend wasn’t at uni so that impacted how I studied.

Any random hobbies?

Started getting into poetry! I joined a poetry circle recently! Suzy Willow, it will be online! I love what poetry does to your brain, how it shifts your head, because i’m so often in an analytical place with my brain. Poetry helps me get into a more creative frame of mind. You think it can be scary, “Oh I can’t write a poem” but it can be super simple. I don’t write anything too flash.

What’s something unexpected about you?

I speak Arabic – took me a couple of years to learn and even then I was quite junior, at the end of 7 years I was still pretty intermediate.

Best way to learn a new language?

Immersion, go and live there, go find a village where nobody else speaks English.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?

A ballerina.

If you were to repeat uni, what would you do differently and why?

I’d probably be more engaged in things outside the class, extracurricular activities or social activities. I didn’t join any clubs, so I would do that.

If you were to write a book, what would it be about?

At this point in my life, it would be about my idea which I had, which is an historical fiction book about some of the early women who came to New Zealand working as missionaries with Māori women, and I would love to co-author it and get both perspectives.

Best hangover remedy?

Probably only ever had a hangover once in my life, so no answers there.

Go to subway order?

Italian BMT pizza melt.