Finding a creative professional niche: Irihapeti Moffat

Bachelor of Communication (2023)

Irihapeti Moffat graduated from her Massey Bachelor of Communication in 2023. A former student of the Raphael House Rudolf Steiner School in Lower Hutt, where she developed her love of all things creative, she is now the Marketing Coordinator, Community Engagement and Learning, at Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa / National Library New Zealand, where she is finding ways to bring her creative streak to the forefront of her professional role. 

What does your work at Te Puna Mātauranga involve?

My mahi is varied day to day. As a Marketing Coordinator, it includes shaping marketing strategies for Te Āmiki shop (which is both in-store and online), and Tiakiwai Conference Centre, posting on social media, as well as promoting public events via different channels. For example, an exhibition I’ve been promoting recently is Broken River Train / dreams of travel (a photography exhibition). Others include book launches, historic walking tours of Wellington, and our permanent He Tohu exhibition (which houses the original Te Tiriti o Waitangi sheets, He Whakaputanga and the Women’s Suffrage Petition) and is a free exhibition open to the public. I also write and compile events for the monthly What’s On newsletter, to inform subscribers about what events are upcoming at our newly opened heritage campus, Te Kahu, among other tasks.  

What’s your favourite part of your job?

My favourite part of the job is that my mahi is really varied and I’m really interested in the content of the work and the kaupapa. I love art, history and culture and the mahi I do at the National Library allows me to do work that really interests and holds value for me. I also work with a fantastic team and manager who are very kind and passionate people who support your growth.  

What skills that you learned in your Bachelor of Communication have prepared you for working in Community Engagement and Learning?

I think because the mahi in the Bachelor of Communication is also really varied and you have a balance of creative and structured tasks, it sets you up for success and gives you flexibility with what you want to pursue next. For example, my major was Marketing Communication which was more analytical but also taught you about how people think, and my minor was Expressive Arts (film, drama and creative writing), which I have always really enjoyed and was so much fun and enriched my studies. That combination of learning to be both a critical/analytical thinker and creative is a really great advantage for any role.  

What’s a standout memory of your time at university?

My most standout memory would absolutely be my Prime Minister’s Scholarship to Colombia in 2023, with a group of other Massey University students, led and facilitated by our lecturers, Elspeth Tilley and Leonel Alvarado. They were both so supportive of us and the program was truly outstanding. This was a lifechanging experience. I took two courses, Creativity in the Community and Spanish, and we participated in Spanish language lessons in Bogotá, Colombia as well as theatre classes. We created and performed in climate change plays with former residents of a scattered, troubled neighbourhood called The Bronx, in Colombia, as a form of creative activism. We experienced the vibrant culture and incredible history of Colombia, exploring the city with our hosts and lecturers. Some highlights were the view of the city of Bogotá from Monserrate, the performance of 'María de Buenos Aires,' a Tango Opera we attended at Teatro Jorge Eliécer Gaitán (theatre), visiting various museums and walking within and zip-lining over Parque Natural Chicaque (Chicaque National Park). 

Any other highlights of your time in the Bachelor of Communication?

When I arrived at university, I was really strong creatively, but I sometimes found structure and critical thinking difficult. Through the various courses and learnings that I achieved while at university, I emerged way more well-rounded, and stronger in both areas. 

What advice would you give to young people considering a communication career?

If you consider yourself a strong writer or would like to hone your skills, enjoy talking to and engaging with people, have a flair for creativity or even are not sure of what direction you want to take, now or after university, studying a communication degree is a really good way to discover what you like. You get to try so many different subjects and it’s so broad that you have a wide variety of areas and opportunities you can work within after you graduate. Every organisation needs communicators.  

I am truly thankful for the doors that my university degree has opened for me. I was able to go to Colombia on my Prime Minister’s Scholarship because of university and, due to my tertiary studies, I could apply for my two TupuToa internships after I finished. These internships, which I secured at Z Energy and Tourism New Zealand as a Marketing Intern, were incredible and I truly believe gave me the experience I needed to launch my career, so that now I have a full-time job I can be proud of. It was hard work, but it was worth it.