Eden Millan
Eden is the middle daughter of Tony and Tracey Millan and granddaughter of Ame and Casey Millan. From her father’s side, her whakapapa traces to Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Rārua.
Eden is currently in her final semester of a Bachelor of Science majoring in Anatomy. She has always had a passion for health and the human body, and is now studying what she loves and has an interest in. Eden has picked up two Māori papers this year which have helped her to understand her culture so much and she hopes to continue studying this.
Eden has not only learned more about the human body through her studies, but she has learned that skills such as time management and hard work is a large part of university. She knows that being "brainy" doesn't count for anything unless you do something with it. Anyone can be anything they want to at university, they just have to work hard.
Other than academic achievement, university has given Eden a whole other breadth of knowledge. Being immersed in such a diverse society, she has learnt a lot about different cultures. “Whether it be Māori, LGBT, women's rights, I have learnt so much that academic papers simply couldn't teach so this has been really cool for a small town girl to be around!”
Eden spends a lot of time heading home to Gore to hang out with her whānau and friends which is an important part of her life. She has however spent a few cold Dunedin nights training with her netball team, The Magpies. This year they took out the premier grade title for the sixth consecutive year.
Eden has some advice for some of our younger owners. Do your homework before going to university. Research the courses offered, how they work and have back-up plans. Know how to study before starting university. It can take the whole first year to find out what suits you.
Eden would like to study further and knows that whatever she ends up doing she wants to be involved in the medical field somehow, and helping people. A lot of her degree has been around Māori health and the inequities in our health system between Māori and non-Māori. A way of helping to bridge that gap is having more Māori health professionals around – something she would love to be a part of.
Eden has learnt about the history of her ancestors and how European settlers disrupted society and about the Treaty. In knowing this it helps to understand conflicts and issues between Māori and European today. Her journey through university has taught her a lot about the language and tikanga, much of which she had never been introduced to. Her uncle, Barney Thomas, and family taught her about Ngāti Rārua Ātiawa Iwi Trust and whakapapa.
Tama tū, tama ora, tama moe, tama mate
He/she who stands is well, he/she who sleeps is unwell
Congratulations Eden. We’ll be with you as you walk across the stage to graduate in December.
Update - February 2018
Eden has commenced employment as a nutritional technician in the dispensary at Mataura Valley Milk, a new infant formula nutritional plant near Gore.
Update - June 2018
Having her Bachelor of Science degree has helped Eden with the science behind dairy - the chemistry and composition of cow milk, hygiene, diseases, physics of the engineering aspects, the anatomy of a cow and the process of milking. Although her focus was anatomy, Eden did the Health Science First Year course which had broad science taught and it has helped in her current job. She now has the opportunity to sit a three year dairy diploma which is heavily science-based. Having her qualification also helped her to understand other roles within the organisation and has opened up future opportunities and sparked interests in a whole range of careers she had previously never known about. These career pathways are possible due to Eden's science background.
I attended Ohu Maatu in April. It was a fantastic weekend and to top it off, it was the 25th anniversary. I left with the intention of already returning again next year. It raised real issues and informed people of what is going on within NRAIT and Wakatu. The business aspect was really interesting to see how land is utilised and the importance of retaining it. I was fortunate enough to receive an NRAIT academic scholarship in 2017 towards my tertiary study. At Ohu Maatu the 2017 scholarship recipients were acknowledged and given a chance to thank NRAIT. They flew us to Nelson to attend and it was an awesome experience to be a part of. I will definitely be back again!
It was great to see Eden in Motueka this year and we look forward to seeing her again.