Meleana Payn becomes first Pasifika student to earn University of Auckland conjoint degree

Meleana Payn has become the first Pasifika student to graduate from the University of Auckland with a conjoint Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Sport, Health and Physical Education degree.

A New Zealand-born Tongan, Payn traces her family roots to Mailetaha, Tongatapu, and Neiafu, Vava’u. She noted that her academic success fulfills a multi-generational vision started by her maternal grandfather, Kapeliele Cocker, who migrated from Tonga to New Zealand in the late 1960s.

Payn credited her success to university support programmes, specifically Tuākana Business and Commerce ‘o Pasifika and Pasifika Success within Sport, Health and Physical Education. She expressed a desire to create pathways for other Māori and Pacific students to see themselves succeeding in higher education. She is currently pursuing a Master of Business in Sport Leadership.