The past year has sadly seen the passing of four of our Unitec whānau. As we were off campus for much of the year, you may not have been aware of their passing. Below are the tributes paid to their departed kaimahi by Unitec colleagues.
Andrew Happy
As one of our pou and rangatira of Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka, we were grateful to be able to manaaki and awhi Andrew’s whānau, so that friends, whānau and colleagues from across Tāmaki, could come to pay their respects before Andrew is taken to his final resting place in Ōpōtiki.
As the Manager of our Security team, Andrew was a central figure for so many across our campuses. His strength of presence, and willingness to go above and beyond, made Unitec a welcoming and safe environment for all our staff and students.
At our recent Excellence Awards, where Andrew was the winner of the Sustained Outstanding Contribution to Unitec award, his contribution was noted as, “He was humble and knowledgeable, always calm and level-headed, showing empathy for those who need it. He has been instrumental in defusing many difficult and sometimes volatile situations on campus, always in a calm and controlled manner. He leads by example, has real Mana, and displays and practices all of the values of Te Noho Kotahitanga every day. He has been described as a Tōtara in the Unitec forest.”
Haere e te rangatira! Ki te poutūtanga o Piripi, ki te urunga e kore nei e taka, ki te moenga te whakaarahia. Waiho rā mātou noho mokemoke tonu. Ma muri nei koe e kōrero, ma muri nei koe e whakaaro. Ko koe hoki tētahi o ngā tino pou o Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka. A tona nei wā ka huri te kei o tou waka ki ngā maunga rangatira o Te Whakatōhea, ki te hau kainga e tatari ana ki tō rātou nei taonga.
Haere e te Matua e Anaru, ki te whatu o te ahura ē!
Darrell Edwards
With great sadness, the School of Trades and Services family announced the passing of our beloved colleague Darrell Edwards. After a short illness, Darrell passed away surrounded by his family.
Over 15 years of service with Unitec, Darrell was a gentle soul who never wished malice upon anybody. His love of teaching was inspiring, as was his passion for motorcycles and racing. He had an infectious personality and humour where you were immediately taken in by his warmth, care and genuine enthusiasm for teaching, students, family, rugby/rugby league and Moto GP racing.
Described as a ‘good sort’, our Trades family feel his passing deeply. He left an indelible mark on all of us. When the school returns to campus, we shall tell our stories, grieve, and celebrate his life and maybe, run out a few of Darrell’s catchphrases. He touched and made an impression on all our lives. We will miss him dearly.
Krystina Kaza
Krystina Kaza died on Sunday 27 June after a long illness. Krystina grew up in Detroit, studied architecture at Cooper Union in New York and came to live in New Zealand in 2004 with her New Zealand husband, the artist Julian Hooper. She worked at Sills van Bohemen for a short time and taught at both the Auckland and Unitec schools of architecture. She was appointed a permanent staff member at Unitec’s School of Architecture from 2005 until her recent illness. She also graduated from Elam in 2016 with a Masters in Fine Arts.
“Krystina inspired hundreds of students at Unitec, supervising dozens to completion of their masters thesis”, Peter McPherson, Head of School, Architecture at Unitec says. “Her passion for Indian architect Doshi left a significant mark on several of her students, with some extraordinary results. Her lectures on Detroit are remembered by graduates many years later. Krystina was a talented lecturer, designer and architect, as well as a gifted artist; the embodiment of intelligence and grace. Our hearts go out to her husband Julian and their two sons.”
Tony van Raat, former Head of School at Unitec says Krystina “drew on a wide and generous experience of life to bring a flood of positive, but always critical energy to everything she did. There was nothing you could not raise with her that would not evoke a valuable and usually provocative response. As a teacher she was an incomparable resource for her students. Most of all though, and overshadowing all her professional accomplishments, was her warmth of character.”
Anna Smith
It is with sadness that Unitec said goodbye to one of our respected and loved bachelor of nursing lecturers. Anna’s team in nursing wrote the following tribute:
Anna began her career in nursing education at Unitec in that Department of Nursing on 15 April 2002 and left Unitec on 4 September 2020.
During that time, Anna’s role was Bachelor of Nursing lecturer (0.6) combined with specific support lecturer (0.4). Anna took her responsibility to all students very professionally and was always determined to do her utmost to ensure she was offering the best learning opportunities for students. Anna’s commitment to Pacific students saw her spend days in the library supporting learning and offering pastoral support where needed.
Anna’s teaching was initially in the BN in community nursing (her favourite) and then transitioned to other areas and programmes including foundation studies healthcare assistance the diploma in enrolled nursing and in the bachelor of nursing programmes. In recent years, Anna taught primarily in year one, one of the most important years of a Bachelor of Nursing programme planting seeds for professional practise and foundational principles ready for future growth and studies to be a RN.
Anna spent a lot of time at the simulation lab with the year one students, where she would get to know students by name and from there on keep an eye on them. Anna was firm about wearing the Unitec uniform with pride, being respectful and students giving their all to know what to do, how to do it and, most importantly, why they are doing it. This being the ultimate goal of a competent, professional, caring and safe registered nurse.
Anna noted with pride, satisfaction and a huge smile that during her treatments across the three DHBs, she was cared for by some amazing Unitec graduates and was visited by many more.
As a colleague Anna was hard-working, honest, reliable, loyal, firm, determined, and best of all a caring person who reached out to others. She gave the best hugs and could pick it when anyone needed one most. He generosity and giving nature will be remembered by all who knew her.
Rest in Peace Andrew, Darrell, Krystina and Anna.