I remember making the big move like it was yesterday. Spoiler: it wasn’t. What I do remember the clearest is how quickly uni can make you feel anonymous – like everyone else got a handbook you somehow missed. Don’t worry, you haven’t. Most people are just better at pretending.
The good news is, the important stuff at uni isn’t obvious in Week 1 anyway. You figure it out slowly: where to spot other tauira Māori, who knows what’s going on, and which spaces make the whole place feel less like an institution and more like somewhere you can exist without overthinking it. So if it feels like everyone else already found their people while you’re still decoding your timetable – relax. No one has it sorted. And no, you probably don’t need all the textbooks.
Here’s what I wish I’d known earlier – and who I wish I’d known about sooner. Consider this your unofficial guide to activating the Māori Radar: the people and places that make uni feel smaller and far less intimidating than it first seems.
#1 Start at Te Huka Mātauraka – The Māori Centre
Most Māori students find Te Huka Mātauraka, the Māori Centre, eventually. The difference is whether you find it early or when things get hard.
Te Huka Mātauraka offers academic and tutorial support, tuakana-teina learning, and guidance that starts as early as the Year 13 to first-year transition. It also recognises that uni challenges aren’t always academic – sometimes you need more than encouragement, and there is clinical and therapeutic support available when things feel bigger than deadlines. What makes it different isn’t just the services, but the feeling of being somewhere you don’t have to explain why you’re here. Sitting in that space between lectures, you realise quickly that everyone else is figuring it out too. Radar says: don’t overthink it.
#2 You’re Already Part of Te Rōpū Māori – Tō Kāinga Rua
A lot of students don’t realise this, but every tauira who enrols at Otago as Māori automatically becomes a member of Te Rōpū Māori (TRM). There’s no sign-up moment – you just show up.
TRM exists to support and encourage education for tauira Māori at Otago and to keep connections strong with the wider Māori community locally, regionally, and nationally. In practice, it means there’s usually something going on. The O-Week shenanigans, like the infamous Mystery Bus, are only the start – throughout the year, there are study wānanga at local marae, beginner and intermediate te reo Māori classes, sport nights, and exam-season breakfasts when everyone suddenly remembers they need fuel and company. Te Rōpū Māori is also home to Waiata Wednesdays (formerly Cultural Hour), where tauira can learn the TRM classics, meet new people, and scratch their haka itch. Of course, you don’t have to go to everything. But knowing it’s there means uni doesn’t feel limited to lectures and deadlines, or that the fun is restricted to O-Week only.
#3 Take a Fun Paper – Friends Happen Here
The ‘f’ in Fresher stands for friends – and they’re not just the people you meet in your hall or first-week circles. Finding a solid group can actually be harder than people admit, especially if you’re only looking in the usual places. In my experience, it happened in the unexpected ones.
In particular, 100-level papers pull people from across different disciplines and backgrounds, so you’re not stuck only knowing the handful of people in your core classes. I took MAOR108: Te Tīmatanga in my first year on a whim, mostly because it fit my timetable, and it ended up being one of the best choices I made. Not only do you learn an entire kapa haka bracket according to traditional practice – learning in the dark, rather than off slides or a screen – but it’s also practical, collective, and a good reset from the usual uni rhythm of reading and typing. Papers like MAOR108 – and its 200 and 300-level counterparts – introduced me to a lot of people I’m still close with now, simply because you spend time doing something together rather than sitting silently in a lecture theatre.
If you’re unsure what to add to a first-year timetable, this is an easy recommendation. An elective paper won’t derail your degree, and it makes uni feel a lot less narrow early on.
#4 Know Your Kaiāwhina, They’ve Got You
Every division has Kaiāwhina Māori and support staff whose job is to help you navigate the parts of uni that aren’t clearly written down. Between paper selection, workload issues, extensions, and simply figuring out who you’re supposed to talk to when something goes wrong – they’ve seen it before. What feels new and overwhelming to you is often something they can untangle quickly. I ignored everything Kaiāwhina Māori related in my first semester and paid for it in stress later. Learn from me – say hi early.
The key is not to wait until things are already piling up. Most older students will tell you the same thing: it’s much easier to introduce yourself early than to explain everything mid-semester when you’re already stressed and behind. A short email, a quick visit, or even just putting a name to a face makes it far less daunting to reach out later. Think of it less as asking for help and more as building a relationship early, so you are not navigating the system on your own.
#5 Find Your Networks, Follow The Noise
Your people aren’t only found in halls of residence or lecture theatres. In fact, many tauira Māori find their strongest friendships and support systems through co-curricular spaces connected to their divisions. These groups, collectively referred to as “Ngā Rōpū”, like Ngā Tauira o Te Kete Aronui (Humanities Division’s Māori Students’ Association), Ngā Mōkai o Ngā Whetū (Māori Dental Students’ Association), and Te Rōpū Whai Pūtake (Māori Law Students’ Association) bring together Māori students who are walking similar academic paths, which makes conversations about study, pressure, and future plans a whole lot less isolating.
All Set – Your Mish Awaits
At the end of the day, activating your Māori Radar isn’t about ticking boxes or following a handbook, but about noticing where the people, the spaces, and the kauapa are. This week, your mish is to take action: follow the TRM socials, swing by Waiata Wednesday, and make yourself known at your next Ngā Rōpū event. Kururaki! Good luck – your radar’s officially switched on.