��You can be anything you want�� �C Father��s words inspire Maaori nursing graduate_����ȷ�,����ʱ�ȷ�

Scott Winton
Thu, 11 Sep 2025 21:39:23 +0000
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Mr Hellesoe in his role at the Auckland Spinal Rehabilitation Unit.

Aarona Hellesoe (Ngaai Tuuhoe) cares for patients recovering from serious spinal injuries at a dedicated rehabilitation unit in south Auckland.

��I love my job. People get some very bad breaks and I see them through the recovery. It��s the most rewarding job ever �C I feel like I��m making a change,�� Mr Hellesoe says.

It��s a long way from what he was doing a few years ago working in retail. The COVID pandemic leading to a career rethink with advice from partner Lydia and mother-in-law, who is a nurse.

Both suggested Aarona should apply to study Bachelor of Nursing �C Maaori at MIT.

��I was happy with what I was doing at the time. My mum always said I was good at helping people when I was young. I put in an application, but I never thought I��d get accepted. I was ecstatic when I found out I got in.��

With a Samoan dad and Maaori mum, Mr Hellesoe was raised in Ruatoki, Bay of Plenty? where Aarona was brought up by his older sister Masela Hellesoe alongside her own two children.

��My mum Leah, and dad John, also sacrificed a lot for my siblings and I. They have been the biggest influence on my education. My dad always told us to aim him. He said ��You can be anything you want except another statistic.����

��That��s what was so great about MIT, it felt like whaanau from the very start.��

��Walking through the waharoa onto the marae was like coming home. I was a long way from the East Coast, but they made me feel like this is your home. I felt really connected with the people at MIT and I don��t think I would have got that anywhere else.��

��It was really hard to do all the mahi, the clinical part is difficult, but I felt really supported throughout my time at MIT. They really helped me keep in touch with my whaanau.��

��My tutor Dana Karem was great. He works for Ng�� Ringa ?whina which is a support group for Maaori nursing graduates created more than 20 years ago by past Maaori nursing graduates of MIT.��

��He would message us all the time to just see how we were going. He created a team environment and was a big part of the support for me. The MIT whakapapa is very special.��

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Mr Hellesoe and whanau at his graduation.?

Before becoming a registered nurse, Mr Hellesoe worked as a Health Care Assistant in the Neurological Rehabilitation and Health of Older People Ward at Middlemore Hospital.

��That experience had a big influence on my approach to nursing, especially in how I value whaanau involvement, rehabilitation, and holistic care. I did a clinical placement at the spinal unit through MIT, then I was offered a full-time position.��

��I love my job. People get some very bad breaks and I see them through the recovery. It��s the most rewarding job ever �C I feel like I��m making a change.��

��Having my two cultures is also great as patients can relate to me. It helps with the communication and rapport with patients and their whaanau. They know I can relate to their situation. Without the support and love of my partner Lydia, I would not be where I am today. She has been my biggest encourager and supporter.��

��A big part of the role is connecting with people. My dad has the gift of the gab and I suppose he��s passed that down to me. Some people say I could make friends with a brick wall,�� Aarona laughs.

MIT��s Nursing Head of School, Associate Professor Deb Rowe says the rapport and connection with patients is key to positive health outcomes.

��All the stats confirm this. Cultural awareness is so important and that��s why we have the Bachelor of Nursing Maaori. Aarona and our other graduates have a nuanced understanding of the communities they��re serving which benefits their patients, the patients�� whaanau and wider society,�� she says.

It is not a requirement to whakapapa Maaori to apply for the Bachelor of Nursing Maaori. It is a three-year degree which covers everything in MIT��s Bachelor of Nursing and additional tiikanga Maaori and other cultural elements.

Graduates of the degree then sit the Nursing Council��s State Examinations to become a fully registered nurse.

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