WOMEN OF THE ISLANDS - PATRICIA LOGA
PATRICIA LOGA
STUDENT - DOCTORATE IN MANAGEMENT STUDIES
FIJIAN
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My name is Patricia Loga and I am from the village of Tubou in Lakeba, Lau with maternal links to Yaroi in Matuku, Lau. I am a proud 'mum' to my 9 year old daughter Noelani and am currently in New Zealand to pursue a Doctorate in Management studies at Massey University. I was born and raised in Suva and come from a loving Fijian family and I am what they call in Fijian the 'buina' - I am the youngest of my siblings.
You're currently studying towards a PhD in Management history and public history, why is this particular topic important to you and something you wanted to pursue/research?
My PhD research is in the area of management history and public policy. It is titled: "Public Service Motivation in a Post-Conflict State: the case of FIji."
To be honest, I am a complete nerd at heart. I enjoy research and picked up the interest whilst completing my post-graduate studies at the University of the South Pacific. I didn't realise I had a knack for research until I won the Gold Medal for having the most outstanding thesis in the Master of Commerce program. I became particularly interested in public policy when I was studying towards a post-graduate diploma at USP. I had an amazing lecturer whose exciting method of teaching piqued my interest.
This is how my love/hate relationship with research and public policy began.
What have been some of the most challenging and some of your most rewarding moments through this process?
Most challenging moment in my PhD journey? Where to start.
Top of the list is definitely being unable to travel home to be able to go back to relax, unwind and reset. I haven't seen my daughter in almost 1 year and 7 months now since the borders closed but I am grateful for technology - we talk for hours every evening. My daughter was born in 2012, that is also the year I went back to university to complete my undergraduate studies. I studied full time and was a breastfeeding mum so I used to schedule her sleep and feed times around my tutorials and lectures.
I was privileged to be able to do this because I had the support of my now late mother and my siblings. I remember completing assignments with one foot on my daughter's pram (putting her to sleep) while I typed away on my computer during ungodly hours.
Living the fruit of that labour now, is a big reward.
How has your upbringing & culture shaped you into the woman you are?
I am a Christian, and my parents instilled biblical values in me while growing up. This has definitely shaped my attitude and outlook towards things - I have learnt to be grateful, kind and loving. My parents were both caring and strong, together with these values I also grew up in a home that taught me to be proud of my indigeneity. These are the values that I carry with me in every space I move in: to care, to have strength and to draw from my cultural values. This cultural lens is also useful in the research spaces that I move in.
Like I said, my research is on Fiji's administrative history and I've had to dig through hundreds of years of archival documents to collect data. When I read through the historical documents I was so grateful for my parents' teachings on Fijian customs and traditions. While sitting in the NZ Archives in Wellington, my mind flashed back to talanoa sessions that my late parents would have with my siblings and I. This is because Fiji's administrative history is interwoven with it's people's cultures and traditional forms of leadership.
Therefore, while my degrees have equipped me with knowledge needed to understand the nuances of public policy, my upbringing and culture has helped me understand the cultural forces at play in Fiji's history.
What is the best piece of advice you've been given?
Back when I was in high school my friend Marica - who is more sister than friend to me, told me that the easiest way to climb any steep incline was to walk backwards. She is also my 'tauvu' so she was probably poking fun at me but thinking back, that's how I've approached life's mountains generally. I don't turn my back on them but I do continue climbing without being overly fixated on the steep incline.
What's inspiring to you about the future?
My daughter - I look forward to seeing her grow into a kind and strong woman. I also have a throng of nieces and nephews who make sense of the world in the most amazing and sometimes humorous ways.
They're growing up with more information on hand and in a society that is more self-aware, I look forward to seeing what they and other Pasifika children in their generation do with the things they now know about their ancestors, our colonial history and the changing narratives that we see around us today.
As a management history nerd, I am inspired about the future after seeing how far we have come in the pages of history - history holds important lessons and stories that could guide our outlook on life.
What do you love about being a Fijian woman today?
The changing narratives around things like speaking indigenous language, having brown skin, natural hair and most importantly, just being a woman! It's a little 'flip the script' moment and it's great to see women being celebrated - especially indigenous women. We've still got a long way to go in terms of progressing equity issues among women but I'll celebrate the current wins in the meantime.
