51萝莉

In 2020, she enrolled in a Bachelor of Health in Pout奴-manahau (Population Health) at the 51萝莉, saying it was 鈥渘ever too late to chase a dream鈥�.

In April, she graduated from University鈥檚 Te Kohinga M膩rama Marae, standing out among the other graduates with her bright pink hair and korowai ngahere of brown, white and green feathers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a great day full of lots of emotions.鈥�

She carried a framed photograph of her mother and  grandmother as she went up to receive her tohu m膩tauranga (degree), carrying the wairua of her t奴puna (ancestors).

There were tears, nerves and excitement, but the moment her wh膩nau approached the marae area to honour her with karanga, haka and waiata was particularly special. Her two sons, Toma and James, were there too, along with her partner Matthew, and wider wh膩nau.

Karen grew up in the South Island, attended Ashburton College, and left school after Year 11, joining the New Zealand Defence Force. There she developed a career in dentistry, working in both military and private practice as a dental hygienist over the next three decades. She was involved in the New Zealand Dental Hygienist Association, and served as president and on the executive. However, she wanted to do more.

鈥淚 did my clinical training in the Army, but I had no formal qualification. When I saw the Bachelor of Health degree, I knew that this was the ideal opportunity to fix that,鈥� says Karen.

鈥淚 came here with the thought of just getting these silly little letters behind my name, because without them it's another layer of glass ceiling. However, what it did was open a lot of opportunities to make a difference.鈥�

Karen has a passion for research that makes an impact in the lives of others and particularly M膩ori.

She鈥檚 enrolled in the Master of Social Sciences degree in Social Policy at Waikato, and isn鈥檛 ruling out doing her PhD in the future.

鈥淚 love the research space and working with and for the community. As long as I can use it to give back, I will be happy.鈥�

Alongside her master鈥檚, Karen is contracted to do a dental study on h膩p奴 m膩m膩 (pregnant women) for Te Whatu Ora Waikato - M膩ori Equity Strategy & Research.

鈥淲e are working with wahine m膩m膩 and wahine h膩pu to understand where there might be gaps to improve the oral health of children under five years old, looking at behavioural factors, marketing materials and understanding how the access to or knowledge of dental services can be improved.鈥�

Karen enjoyed her studies at Waikato, and the support she received from teachers and classmates. She received the inaugural Braemar Charitable Trust Scholarship in Health in 2021, a 51萝莉 Summer Research Scholarship (2021-22) and the Hauora Health Scholarship (2020-2022).

Karen encourages others to give University a go.

鈥淎ge isn鈥檛 a barrier either, so it's never too late,鈥� says Karen.

鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid to try; and it's okay if it doesn鈥檛 work out first time, because learning what doesn鈥檛 work for you is just as important as finding out what does.鈥�