Women in Science: How Eteroa Lafaele Got into Software Engineering

“[My] internship is where I learned about computer science. I wanted to use more creativity. I wanted a different challenge. With computer science, everyday I had to switch gears. I knew no one in the field who was a Pacific Islander. There were no Pacific Islanders in tech. I took the road less travelled and it has made all the difference.” 

Eteroa Lafaele, an indigenous Samoan, was born in New Zealand. Her parents migrated to New Zealand before she was born. Eteroa knows the value of the choice her parents made, and she is extremely ambitious. She is self-aware, and she knows that there are people who will stereotype her as a Samoan Islander in the tech world. However, Eteroa doesn’t concern herself with other peoples’ opinions, and she knows the work that is required of her as a young woman in science. 

Growing up in a Samoan family

Pacific Islander culture is all about community, and parents remain involved in the lives of their children, even as they reach adulthood. As with many cultures, Pacific Island culture places a lot of emphasis on honoring one’s parents, and Eteroa greatly values her parents’ views of her. When she informed them of her plans to study Software Engineering, they weren’t entirely on board with her moving to another town to study.

Eteroa was so determined to convince them that she prepared PowerPoint presentations and argued her point. After many difficult discussions, Eteroa’s parents accepted that she was moving away, and so her journey began.

Eteroa went to study at the Auckland University of Technology, and before long, her  parents became the number one supporters of her work, and other members of the community came together to support her. In fact, every time Eteroa went back home to visit, members of her church would tell her that they were proud of her and would support her with so much enthusiam, as though she were their own child. Eteroa was motivated and comforted by this community love, and she was inspired to persevere at university.

Striving for success, satisfaction, and adventure 

Eteroa’s high school life was entirely different from her time at university. As a child, she was not as diligent in school, even doing badly in maths and computer science.

Thankfully, Eteroa had an epiphany early on in her life. She soon realized that she wanted to live a life of satisfaction, adventure and success. This spurred her on to work harder in school, where she eventually became the top student in her maths class. 

Upon changing her work ethic, Eteroa had another discovery, and this was one that would change her life. She realized that she had always had the potential to succeed in science, technology, engineering and maths; all that had changed was her mindset. 

Networking at university is key 

Eteroa’s ability to socialize and work in groups was helpful to her at university. Fortunately, most of the work Eteroa’s class did was in groups, and this allowed her to flourish socially. Not only did this help her to create a strong network of future engineers and scientists around her, but it also helped her to feel less alone at times when studying was challenging. She and her classmates helped each other through difficult times, and she credits this as a big reason she made it through university.

What advice does Eteroa have for young women looking to get into science?

Eteroa’s advice is to value yourself and remember your worth. “Always stand up for yourself...you are your biggest supporter,” Eteroa says. “If you stand up for yourself, you save the next girl,” Eteroa notes the importance of resilience, especially as a young woman in such a male-dominated field as computer engineering. “The rejections and crashes hurt,” She says, “But they’re going to happen. If we’re standing on the shoulders of the giants, we need to be the giants for the next generation.” At such a young age, Eteroa Lafaele has already shown great wisdom, foresight, and promise, and one can only imagine the exciting career this young scientist has before her. If you want to create a career in science but don’t have anyone who has forged the way ahead of you, don’t be afraid to do it yourself. That’s what Eteroa has done, and what she encourages you to do, too.