Spotlight on staff success at Manawatū graduation

Alongside their fellow students, they walked across the stage at The Regent on Broadway to have their degrees conferred.

Here’s a snippet of some of their successes:

Dr Natalie Ahlborn

Postdoctoral Researcher Dr Natalie Ahlborn started working at the Riddet Institute in 2023. She was drawn to the role as it gave her the chance to be involved in world-leading research in a supportive and rewarding work environment, with potential for career growth and development.

Her research examined common milk processing treatments like pasteurisation, homogenisation and UHT-treatment, and what they mean for human nutrition from a protein perspective. For a long time, it was assumed that because the nutrient composition of milk isn’t changed by processing, the nutritional outcomes of drinking each milk would also be the same.

However, Dr Ahlborn’s research showed that processing can speed up protein digestion and amino acid absorption in the body. These findings provided an opportunity to harness common processing treatments, like homogenisation, to fine-tune how we meet our population’s nutritional needs. This research contributes to the development of dairy foods with targeted nutritional outcomes, which can then help to deliver the right nutrition to the right situation, such as to the elderly.

Dr Ahlborn says she enjoys working at Massey and the special focus it has on research.

“I value the effort Massey put into communicating our research findings with the wider community. This is what is needed for our work to have an impact. I experienced this first-hand at the recent World Dairy Summit in Paris, where The Riddet Institute supported me to present my work, resulting in huge engagement with the wider research community as well as the general public from all over the world.

“Massey was very flexible and supportive of me while I started working and completing my PhD. As a result I found the study-work balance something I could plan for and manage well.

“It’s an honour to walk across the stage. Graduation is a big moment for me; I crossed the stage thinking of all those who helped me along the way, which is what made my PhD journey the experience it was,” she adds.

Dr Te Rina Krystal Warren

Dr Te Rina Krystal Warren started her Massey journey straight after high school, pursuing a degree in Māori Studies and mathematics. After taking some time off to raise her daughter Kewa, she resumed her studies completing her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts.

Her first role at Massey was as a Regional Health Promotion in Schools Manager, a contract with the Ministry of Health. She later joined the Kia MAIA project, led by Professor Mason Durie, where they examined challenges in Māori education. She then got a teaching position at Te Uru Māraurau, where she was able to apply her development studies and Māori studies knowledge to advance Māori education and the work of the Kia MAIA project. Most recently she has been completing her PhD while managing a full teaching workload.

Dr Warren says working at the university allows her to build on her foundation in development studies while contributing to several important areas of Māori development.

“I engage with several topics, including the politics of Māori development, Māori education, language revitalisation, iwi development and research. Teaching subjects that positively impact Māori development and help transform communities is incredibly rewarding. Working at Massey allows me to merge academia with my experience. Being part of the positive transformation for our nation is a fulfilling path and I’m committed to the work I do.”

Her research examines the challenges and opportunities for Māori engaging in technology and the internet. By developing and applying īWhakaaro (kaupapa Māori internet theories) and īRanghau (Kaupapa Māori cyber ethnography) this research explores the overall question: what are the implications of Māori engaging online for tikanga Māori? And explores how tikanga Māori (Māori values, customs and protocols) maintained or transgressed through the use of the internet by Māori.

Dr Warren has encountered significant challenges throughout her academic journey, so graduating with a PhD was a significant achievement for her. To make the event more special, she is graduating alongside her daughter Kewa, who is a graduating with a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching Kura Kaupapa Māori and a Postgraduate Certificate in Arts.

“This graduation a testament to the support of our whānau; we wouldn’t have made it this far in our education journey without the support of our entire family, including our marae, iwi and Kura Kaupapa Māori. As we celebrate this milestone, we will also remember that our successes are not ours alone: ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari taku toa he toa takitini.”

Troy James Bosher

Troy came to Massey to study a Bachelor of Agricultural Science in 2019. During his studies he realised that he was more interested in pursuing academia rather than transitioning back into work, and found himself a casual job at AgResearch in the animal nutrition and physiology team. While working there he was encouraged to explore postgraduate studies, which led to him studying his master’s degree.

Troy is now employed at Massey as a Research Technician Manager for Massey Agricultural and Horticultural Enterprises. Troy and his team help researchers, both within and outside of the university, to plan, setup and run research projects across the Massey farms. They also support the farm managers across the five Massey farms.

Troy says his experience studying at Massey heavily influenced his decision to work there.

“During my master’s I worked really closely with the Massey Dairy 4 team and several scientists within the School of Agriculture and Environment, which I really enjoyed. I loved being out on farm and getting involved in applied science and the culture I found both within the school and the farm teams.

Troy submitted his thesis three months after joining the Agriculture and Horticulture Enterprises team. During this time there was some overlap between his studies and him commencing employment.

“My peers were all really supportive of the time I needed to finalise my studies. I had a lot of encouragement from staff within the School to get my studies done, which made juggling work and study easy.”

Troy is celebrating graduation with his partner, family and friends as well as some Massey mentors who supported him throughout his academic journey.

"I've got a long way to go in my academic journey still, but for me, graduating with my master's will mark a really nice day for me. I am incredibly grateful to everybody who's played a part in making me who I am today!”

Other staff to graduate include:

Faleolupe Aiiloilo – Certificate in Public Health
Callum Dodds – Bachelor of Aviation
Michael Horrocks – Bachelor of Aviation
Hannah Rose Hawley – Doctor of Philosophy
Kate May – Bachelor of Aviation
Luca Panizzi – Doctor of Philosophy
Luke Rowe – Doctor of Philosophy
Christelle (Christina) Roos – Doctor of Philosophy
Johanna Thomas-Maude – Doctor of Philosophy
Rebekah Lynaire Wood – Master of Science
David Jon White – Doctor of Philosophy
Sheng Zhang – Master of Analytics
Kris Arianne Ubando – Bachelor of Business