By Candice Luke, Te Rito journalism cadet
Cherokee Walters of Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Te Arawa descent heads an innovative rangatahi internship programme at science and technology agriculture firm, AbacusBio.
Her work supporting rangatahi in early career and personal development has earned her a nomination for the local category at the 2022 NZ Impact Awards in Pōneke this weekend.
“The kind of passion that I have for helping rangatahi comes from those first moments when I was looking for employment once I finished my degree. I became really passionate about work entry and people getting on-boarded into careers and workplaces, and really being able to find their footing.”
Raised in Te Puke, her connection to the environment started on the family lifestyle block, raising beef cattle and rescuing Kaimanawa and mixed-breed horses. Spending her early years in kiwifruit country she found her calling in science and its application within the primary industries.
“We work with anyone, from a sheep farmer in Southland to an industry body like Venture Taranaki.
Working with rangatahi
“We'll look at the genetics that are already in an animal and or plant and see what strategies and solutions we can introduce to our client to help them improve productivity or suitability for their location.”
Walters upholds Te Ao Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi values in her personal life and on the job.
This has helped her to connect with rangatahi coming through her 10-week programme.
She says that other industries could look to the internship framework for a holistic and people-centric approach to bringing in fresh talent.
“It was quite cool having Māori interns working with a Māori industry body and they came from different backgrounds like finance and engineering. Everyone thought they were related because of how well they got along.”
AbacusBio interns are being nurtured to apply their Māori worldview in the science field and Walters encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration, seeing “exponential growth” in the interns when they are allowed to use their own knowledge and experience.
Walters says the feeling is “indescribable” when interns find their feet and start to be taken seriously by their colleagues and clients.
For rangatahi leaving study and entering the workforce, she says, “I think young people are more afraid of saying yes than saying no. Take every chance you can. Seize every opportunity and seek out people who will help you.”
The Impact Awards are on this Saturday evening in Pōneke.
