UQSPIA CLASS OF 2015 ALUM
Joachim Loia Manamana III Thetadig - Samoan/Chinese
Bachelor of Physiotherapy Honours IIA
“I plan to get to work straight up. I have a job in the community cruising around to service people in their homes. The long term plan is to get a higher degree and go back to the Pacific to provide a mobile physiotherapy service to as many islands as I can. I will probably have to start with Samoa because it is by far the MOST beautiful and blessed (this is a completely unbiased statement).
A massive highlight of my time at UQ was walking into the circle of strangers seated in the Great Court in my third year of uni and sitting down. Without realising it; they were to become the shoulders I stood on to envisage my dreams; the only bunch of people to have me struggling for air from pure laughter; and my family- I don't say it lightly at all; they are my family.
UQSPIA changed my whole outlook on university life, they changed how I carry myself everywhere I go- the classroom, the hospital and out onto the stage. They became the link to my Pacific heritage and the bridge to my future. Being a part of UQSPIA meant embracing the passionate lifestyle of the Pacific as well as fighting to represent the struggles of Climate Change, which currently threatens our way of life.
Instead of introducing myself as "pretty much Australian" I'm so proud to tell people I'm Samoan Cheeehoooo!! (Yes. I empty my lungs every time). And no it’s not a small island in the Pacific. It is huge, massive, glowing body of music, dance and fire pulsing with life, coconut oil and the vibrant volcanic eruptions echoing a million years back in time.”