Amelia Cook

Amelia Cook (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha) has had her heart set on being an architect since she was eight years old.

But Amelia found secondary school difficult, and endured bullying that put her under a great deal of stress. She thought that her dream might be on hold indefinitely.

That wasn’t enough to put off this resilient young wahine. She made contact with a liaison advisor at Otago Polytechnic and discovered that through the Foundation Skills programme there could be a pathway towards realising her dream of becoming an architect.

“After a tough time at school, I found the Foundations programme really supportive. I was able to gain confidence and know that I am capable. At high school I wasn’t achieving at a consistent level, but when I got here I was averaging 80%.”

After completing a Level 3 Foundations certificate programme, Amelia continued into the Certificate in Digital Media and Design (Level 4), which was the next step towards her dream.

“I really liked working on my final project in art and design. I was able to take it to the School of Architecture to show what I wanted to do, and how I want architecture to be in my world: working with sustainability, working with my culture, and showing people that we can work with the land/whenua differently rather than just on top of it.”

Now 18 years old, Amelia has just been accepted into the Bachelor of Architecture programme, a huge accomplishment. And she credits Foundation Skills for setting her on that path.

Polytechnic education is about learning by doing. Teachers at Otago Polytechnic are trained to support different learning styles, and many people who didn’t enjoy school find Polytech a very different type of study experience.

“I love practical work. I’m a kinaesthetic learner, which is why I found it difficult in school classrooms, but at Otago Polytechnic it’s really easy to grasp the information I need.”

Amelia points out that the benefit of Foundation learning is that it provides open-ended skills that are broadly useful, from building a CV to writing skills to getting work experience in community settings.

“Coming here has been such an eye-opener, you learn so many skills and it can literally take you anywhere you want to be. You can change the direction you want to go in life, and it’ll let you get there.”

Māori culture is an important part of Amelia’s life, and she has appreciated the opportunity to integrate it into her learning.

“In Foundations, there are lecturers like Rea and Jade that were just so supportive of my culture, and especially cultural projects that I was able to do in the classroom, like give my mihi. I find that really important. It is a helpful skill that tells us where we belong and who we are, and I’ve found so many whanauka through telling my mihi. I even made my first korowai, which was just amazing.”

Amelia also enjoyed the variety of people in her Foundations classroom. She points out that throughout school, you are grouped with people your own age, while in her Foundations class she had the opportunity to meet people of all ages and backgrounds.

“Foundations is a good base to get your confidence and find out who you are. You can grow and you get to mix with other adults as well.

“It’s a big family. They’re so supportive, and no matter who you go to, they’re all really nice. The lecturers really care.”