Dani works in strategic procurement and operations at the Ministry of Education.
Japanese language education
Secondary:
Completed five years of Japanese at high school followed by a further year in school in Japan as a Rotary exchange student
Tertiary – completed at Massey University
- Bachelor of Arts in Japanese history, language and literature
- Post Graduate Diploma of Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language
- Master of Arts specialising in Japanese and Women’s Studies. Thesis title: Comparative analysis of equal employment opportunities law and policy
Motivation to learn Japanese
Dani’s initial interest in Japanese was sparked when her older sister went to Japan on an exchange and she naively thought she would not be able to speak to her on her return. She was fascinated by Japanese culture and tradition and holds on to the principles of gimu and giri to centre her in her daily life.
Employment
Dani’s graduate study at university in particular has helped her to apply thorough research skills and analysis in her work in strategic procurement and operations at the Ministry of Education. Dani’s Japanese studies exposed her to information about law, policy and strategy and she learnt to source information from multiple places. Dani can see herself continuing to work for the government in education.
Time spent in Japan
As well as the year spent on the as a Rotary International scholar, Dani has visited Japan on numerous short trips during university holidays to maintain her Japanese language skills.