Veitania Lepani

Veitania Lepani was proud to be the first student enrolled in the new Bachelor of Pacific Studies program at the Australian National University (ANU).

“I had more of a motive to go to university because now there’s a course that’s relevant to me, being a Pacific Islander,” she says.

Veitania first learned about the degree at a camp for high school students organised by Pasifika Australia, an event designed specifically to attract more Pacific Islanders to university.

“One thing they stressed to us at the camp was that there aren’t many Pacific Islanders going on to university and they want to change that, especially at ANU because they do host one of the largest Pacific studies departments.”

She says she was immediately drawn to the new bachelor program.

“I just liked the sound of it! It gives you a chance to learn at a university level about the place that you come from. Most Pacific Islanders don’t get that chance in high school.”

In her first year of the program, Veitania says she had a “taste of all kinds of courses”, including international relations and gender studies.

“I did do a course on Tok Pisin, the language of Papua New Guinea (PNG), and that was really good. It was a small, intimate class and fun. I’m from PNG, so it’s a language I could understand but never learnt to speak’, she explains.

I met some close friends at ANU, and it’s interesting because they share their culture amongst us too. You get a wider sense of what it means to be a Pacific Islander. I’ve always wanted to learn about other Pacific nations.

During her experience at ANU, Veitania volunteered at Pasifika Australia events to encourage other students of Pacific heritage to join her at university.

“It was a great little group. We had our little annex, with a lounge room. You can make yourself toast or a tea and sit back and study and you are sure to run into most people because they go in and out all day. It does not sound like a big thing, but it helps and offers a great opportunity to socialise with other Pacific Islanders. We all have something in common.”

Vitania currently works as a Program Officer at The Australian Water Partnership, an Australian international cooperation initiative helping developing countries in the Indo-Pacific region work towards the sustainable management of their water resources.