Episode 103 - The power of a smile: Vito's Journey

Growing up in Auckland our guest this week grew up in a world where his identity was well defined as a young person. However, as he grew older and the kinds of people that lived around him changed this got him thinking about what his cultural identity was. Through this episode we speak to  Vitolio Niuloa about how he now proudly represents his Samoan and Niuean cultures. What this means to him and how it led him to design a Pacific research project focusing on the importance of interpersonal connection during his psychology undergraduate degree. Though he has completed his psychology degree, Vito had a dream to become a Dr, a dream that started from a very simple reaction that his family had when he said to them he wanted to be a Dr when he was at school. That reaction is something that kept him going as navigated his undergrad trip. On this trip he found people he fully connected with, he found a way that helped him study effectively, he found friendship and more importantly the encapsulation of Vā.  In this episode we learn how the impact of family, friends and being a humble human can have a profound impact. As always this is filled with a number of actionable lessons for anyone listening. Enjoy! Prajesh and Tane