Whānau Kōrero - Check-in with Angel Butler

Earlier this year, we announced Angel Butler was the first recipient of the Taku Taunga Scholarship.

The scholarship was the outcome of the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and Precinct Properties partnership – a $10,000 scholarship to one individual for up to three years, that aims to grow the capability of the hapū in the property and business sectors.

When Angel applied for the scholarship, she didn’t realise the impact it would have on her future.

The scholarship funds allowed her to pay for her first semester fees and papers, while easing the burden of the rising cost of living. “As it is my third and final year of studying, I decided to fully focus on my studies to ensure that I finished at the best of my abilities,” she says. “The scholarship has helped me achieve this. It gave me financial stability, which meant I could dedicate all my time to my studies. “

Angel is a third-year Bachelor of Commerce student at The University of Auckland, with a focus on Marketing and Management. As she makes her way through her final semester at university, she reflects on how her schooling has led to this point.

“I went to Mount Albert Grammar School, where my fascination with commerce first began,” she recalls. “I took subjects revolving around finance, business and accounting. I’ve also always enjoyed marketing and its creative components.”

Angel recently participated in the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei summer internship programme where she was placed with Watercare New Zealand in their internal communications and events team.

“It was different from anything I have done,” says Angel. “I wrote a lot of the internal news for the wider company, and planned numerous events for the organisation, which ranged from small groups of attendants to the hundreds.”

These events further fed her passion for the work she did during this time.

“A highlight from my internship was developing a project that enables students to tour Watercare’s dams to learn about the processes and importance of our wai. This project continues to be implemented at Watercare. So far, Green Bay High School geography students and SPIES (South Pacific Indigenous Engineering Students) have partaken in these tours.

“As a rangatahi myself, I find it awesome to see my peers gain experience and learn from a project I developed.”

She relished the responsibilities this project gave her, as it helped her refine her leadership skills.

“I’ve always stepped into leadership roles, even throughout school. I felt like I could make people feel comfortable and direct them in a way that supported them,” she says.

But beyond having renewed career aspirations, the internship gave her something more special.

“It helped me connect with iwi, and in a way brought me closer to my roots and helped me understand them better. Now my goal is to work with iwi and partners in the commerce industry to ensure whānau stability and succession.”