Rate My Professor Kala Fagasoaia

Kala Fagasoaia, also known as Kalameli, serves as the Deputy Manager of Va'a o Tautai, the Centre for Pacific Health within the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago. Born and raised in Ōtepoti, she holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Otago Business School, which she completed in 2017. Since joining the university that year, Fagasoaia has been instrumental in the Pacific Opportunities Programmes (POPO), initially as the Foundation Programme Coordinator. In this capacity, she has provided essential academic and mentoring support to Pacific students pursuing studies in Health Sciences. In 2024, she assumed responsibility for the POPO Internship Programme, creating opportunities for interns to engage with Pacific health providers throughout New Zealand during the summer period. Her work focuses on student support and internship coordination within Va'a o Tautai.

Prior to her university roles, Fagasoaia accumulated over five years of experience managing various retail stores, where she developed crucial management and organizational skills that she now applies effectively in her position. She is passionate about encouraging academic excellence among Pacific students in the Division of Health Sciences. Fagasoaia has contributed to discussions on educational impacts through verbal presentations at the University of Otago's COVID-19’s Impact on Teaching and Learning: Lessons Learned Symposium in November 2022. She co-presented 'The grind never stops: Lessons learned from the COVID-19 impact on the POPO Programmes' with I. Lucas, M. Lameta, G. Williams, K. Masina, M. Lameta, and G. George. She also co-presented '"Extra just got more extra": Leaning on Pacific values to lead our team through uncertainty' with R. Richards, F. Cockerell, M. Lameta, B. Weastell, L. Pereira-Moeono, and F. Sopo'aga.