Honouring legacy, forging change: the first Pacific doctoral candidate in Social Work 

Before he became a frontline youth worker, a police youth development manager, or a respected lecturer, Jack Scanlan was a young boy in Māngere helping his mother fill out job applications she couldn’t read. That moment supporting his mother showed him something he would only appreciate years later: he was someone who stepped up for others. As he is about to finish his Doctor of Social Work, he will become Massey’s first Pacific graduate of this qualification. 

Growing up in Māngere: foundations of compassion 

Jack’s parents were among the earliest Pacific migrants to New Zealand, arriving from Sāmoa in the 1950s as teenagers seeking opportunity. Jack grew up in Māngere, South Auckland, the youngest of six children, and the first in his family to complete high school and attend university. 

His childhood memories are the foundation for his life’s work. One of the clearest is walking with his mother into a government social support office, helping her fill in job applications and acting as her translator. “My mother had poor English and low literacy, so my role was to help her answer every question,” Jack recalls. The staff member was surprised to see a child handling the entire interview. His reward was a simple bag of chips, a moment that still holds deep meaning. 

“As we walked home sharing a bag of chips, my mum turned to me and said tama poto – clever child. Her look of pride was everything. It meant I could help the person I loved most.” 

Jack speaks about his mother with a softness that shows how deeply she remains part of him. Though she has passed away, her influence is woven through every part of his journey. “I was born a social worker, not because of past trauma, but because my mother believed in me.” Those early experiences later inspired Jack to create a social work framework called ‘Ululaau’, named in her honour, a way of carrying her legacy forward. 

Growing up in a working-class family, Jack’s path as a young person could have taken many different directions. “I once was a youth at risk. I hung around with young people from similar backgrounds. We were poor, had low educational achievement, and few job prospects,” he explains. As a teenager, he became associated with a youth gang, not out of harm, but belonging. “It was just a sense of connection.” 
 
But one moment would change everything: an English exam at high school. “My English teacher came up to me and said, ‘You topped the class.’ Despite everything, she saw my potential. That changed my direction.” At the time, Jack was 16, the age when many in his family had left school to work. “It was almost like the natural pathway. When you turned 16 or got a School Certificate, the expectation was to go and work. There were factories down the road, and that was where most of my siblings, parents, aunties and uncles went.”  

Instead, that moment of recognition from his teacher shifted something. Seeing a different possibility for her youngest child, his mother convinced his father to let him stay in school. This decisive turning point rerouted the course of Jack’s life. 

Finding purpose: a pathway through university and beyond 

Jack entered the University of Auckland in the early 1990s. He tried commerce to help support his family but soon realised mathematics wasn’t his strength. Sociology, however, opened his eyes. 

“At university, I began to truly understand what my parents and Pacific communities were going through. It gave me a lens of social responsibility.” 

A pivotal influence then was his best friend, Ben Valeni, who has since passed away. “Ben was a role model. He reminded me we had a responsibility to help our parents and our communities.” After graduating, and despite sociology not being a guaranteed path to employment, Ben helped Jack find an opportunity working with young people. That was the beginning of his career in youth development and social work. 
 
For nearly 30 years, Jack has served on the frontline of youth justice, including 17 years with the New Zealand Police as a Police Youth Development Manager. He is a fully registered social worker with the Social Workers Registration Board (SWRB), and a Master of Social Work (Applied) (Honours) graduate. He has also lectured in social work across five tertiary institutions, sharing knowledge grounded in lived experience. 

Transforming lives: “kindness, care and never giving up” 

Among the many young people Jack has supported, one story stands out. He once worked with a 17-year-old who had been adopted by his aunt and often felt he did not belong. He sought connection in a youth gang and was on his final chance before facing imprisonment. 

Jack picked him up each day, mentored him, enrolled him in courses and helped him into jobs. “He would get kicked out of courses, lose jobs, but much like my mother was with me, I never gave up on him.” 

The young man eventually completed his plan and was discharged from court. Fifteen years later, during a follow-up study, Jack saw the long-term impact. “He was an adult with a wife and beautiful family. He talked about how I had been kind, caring and non-judgmental, and how that put him on a new pathway.” 

For Jack, these stories are the heart of social work. “Your words can give life. You must be a beacon of love and light for the people you serve.” 

His decades on the frontline also taught him that true solutions lie within communities. “We often give funding to big organisations, yet communities like South Auckland hold the lived experience and wisdom. They should be leading, but they don’t always get the support.” 

His doctoral research reflects this belief. Named after his late mother, Ululaau focuses on racial inclusion and the empowerment of former youth-at-risk who become practitioners. “Those with lived experience should be at the decision-making table. People change. They grow. And their journeys can help others,” he shares. 

Becoming the first Pacific doctoral candidate in social work 

Jack is completing his Doctor of Social Work at Massey University, the first Pacific doctoral candidate in the programme in Aotearoa. This milestone carries deep emotion. 

He acknowledges his supervisory team: Professor Kieran O’Donoghue, Associate Professor Tracie Mafile’o, and the late Dr Michael Dale, whose influence remains significant. Before Dr Dale passed away, he gifted Jack his own doctoral regalia, an act of trust and belief. “He could see the good in me. This legacy was passed to him by his supervisor, and now it’s been passed to me.” 

Jack submitted his thesis in October and awaits his oral examination. If successful, he hopes to graduate in Auckland so his community can celebrate with him. “I want people who know me to see themselves in me. Being from Māngere, being Sāmoan, we’re often portrayed negatively. But I want young people to see that university is possible. That change is possible.” 

His family has been central to this journey. “My wife Nicky is the real hero. We have three kids, and she kept the home running while I worked full-time while studying. When I walk across that stage, she should be beside me.” 

His motivation now is his children. “I want them to look up and say, ‘That’s my dad.’”

Looking ahead: for the next generation 

When asked what he hopes to leave behind for future social workers, Jack focuses on kindness, compassion, cultural grounding and a genuine love for people. 

“An A student does not make an A social worker. Come to university not to chase grades, but to earn an A in the lives of the people you serve.” 

Through his research, his frontline work and his leadership, Jack hopes to shape change across Pacific communities and the wider social work sector of Aotearoa. “I don’t want to be the first and last Pacific Doctor of Social Work. I want others to follow. I want our people in positions of influence, changing policies and shaping the future.”