Maja Rono

Born in the Philippines, Maja Hartnell-Roño (pronounced Maha) came to NZ at 14 years old. This shift in her life was her first step into a completely new world and opened her eyes to a new way of living, combined with the regular teenage challenges of being young and trying to get to know oneself.

After completing her New Zealand schooling – a further two years than in the Philippines – she took a break from studying and worked in retail in central Wellington.

“I worked my way up to store manager, and while it was financially stable, I just wasn’t fulfilled in terms of what I wanted to do in life. I remember being at work and watching the Victoria University graduation parades and being so inspired by that and wanting to be able to be a part of that one day.”

Maja is graduating with a Bachelor of Nursing from UCOL, but this isn’t her first degree – after being inspired, she successfully completed a Bachelor of Science Major in Psychology and Criminology.

“I remember the pride I had, completing that degree and I went on to work in mental health for the government, which was incredibly rewarding but after a while I became burnt out and didn’t feel like I was getting as far as expected in my career,” Maja explains.

It was then, that her life trajectory changed, after she met her now husband who was a farmer from the Wairarapa.

“I’d always wanted to live in the country, rather than in the city so eventually I moved there too and it’s just always felt like home for me.”

Commuting to Wellington became exhausting, followed by the disruption of COVID and the arrival of her first daughter, and despite finding a new role in Wairarapa, Maja was inspired to make another major life change.

“The content of my daily work in mental health was just too much for me at that time, so I really started considering what I wanted my life to look like. It was during this time that I really gave nursing some serious thought.”

“My Well Child provider nurse for my first daughter was actually a UCOL student at the time, and by the time I had my second daughter, she was a fully-fledged Well Child nurse. Watching her journey was a huge source of inspiration for me, as was the memory of my grandfather, who always hoped I would become a nurse when I grew up. I was also deeply shaped by my mother — a strong, brave woman whose resilience taught me to chase my dreams no matter the obstacles. Her example has stayed with me throughout my life.”

Maja enrolled into UCOL Wairarapa’s Nursing programme while 6 months pregnant with her second child, under no illusions of the mammoth feat she was taking on.

“After talking with Tracey [Cook, Academic Portfolio Manager, Nursing], about the logistics of whether I’d be able to achieve it – who was wholly supportive, I took the leap and completed all my enrolment paperwork early to ensure I’d get a place.”

“While choosing UCOL Wairarapa was an easy choice in terms of logistics, I’d heard so many good things about their Nursing programme – it’s very hands-on, there’s lots of support, including being connected to local job opportunities, and the pass rate was high.”

“The support team at UCOL was great, they’re so easy to talk to and really just great people who care. Juggling a lot outside of my studies and being a mature student also meant I was able to really zone in and focus on what I needed to achieve and lean on their support when I needed it. The Learning Advisors especially, just made the academic support aspect so easy!”

Maja is now employed within the Duty Nurse Management team at Wairarapa hospital, which is giving her a wide variety of experience across different areas of the hospital, and loving soaking up every minute of it.