Samoan student Michael Salamasina reflects on being able to finally graduate from the University of Otago today. It had taken him about 16 years, much of that time spent working to support his family, but he had finally made it. And he is the first member of his immediate family to gain a university degree. When he began his Otago physical education studies in 2001, he was already a father, his first child Meihana Kewene-Masina, now 17, having been born the previous year. He wanted to enjoy close contact with his growing children, and needed to undertake further work to support the family.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 15, 2017 16:13 UTC