Kōkiri talks to Mary Kereopa, Māori Electricity Supply Industry Organisation Cadet.

By the time she was a teenager, Mary Kereopa (Ngāti Whakaue, Te Arawa) could take out a car engine, pull it apart and put it back together again.

“When I was little I wondered how the inside of phones worked, I had to find things out so I’d try and build things, fix things, take things apart: I always made a mess.”

The first in her whānau to take on tertiary study, Mary’s love of working out how things worked got the better of her and after college she left Rotorua to study at Auckland University where she gained a degree in civil engineering. Getting not just a qualification but a trade as well was great advice from her mum that she never forgot.

“My mum and dad didn’t finish school, they had to go get a job and look after whānau. Now I have a young family of my own I want to give them that kind of stability.”

Having her first child at 21 meant Mary’s engineering career got off to a slow start and her cadetship has rekindled her passion of finding out how things work. She also wants her tamariki – she has two now - to see her as a role model, to be proud and to know they can do anything they set out to.

“I don’t want to be on a benefit, just providing for my kids day to day: I want to provide my kids a life.”

When we caught up with her she had been on site at Transfield’s training session in Kawerau for a week and “missing my kids like mad”. The sole female and one of only two Māori on her course, Mary said when she arrived she was really nervous and for a brief moment wondered if she was out of her depth. But then “I just grabbed this opportunity with both hands and I’m loving it.”

Mary is part of a nationwide team of telecommunications engineers and technicians who will make it possible for New Zealanders to enjoy ultrafast internet connections. She says connections will be ten times faster and sees ultrafast fibre as the way of the future. The end of July spells the end of training and the beginning of a new chapter for Mary and her young family as they move to Christchurch where she will work as an ultrafast fibreline technician. While it’s all a bit nerve wracking she’s looking forward to the new start and the opportunity to make a difference.

“Christchurch has changed forever. I am proud to be part of a company down there helping to rebuild telecommunications in Christchurch as well as the rest of the country.”