First place is just a number | Telesia Tanoa’i | TEDxWellington

In her journey through academic competitions, 16-year-old Telesia Tanoa'i confronts the weight of her own expectations and the toll it takes on her mental well-being. As she navigates through numerous disappointments, Telesia discovers a transformative realisation: by prioritising purpose over perfection, she finds the resilience to persist and grow.

Telesia's story is a testament to the power of purpose in overcoming setbacks and finding fulfillment amidst challenges. Telesia Tanoa’i is a Samoan New Zealander with an international view of the world. As the daughter of a diplomat, she has spent her childhood in Taiwan, Fiji, and New Zealand. She is a year 12 student at Wellington’s Samuel Marsden Collegiate, where she is the Māori/Pasifika representative on the Head Girls’ Committee. For Telesia, the issue she cares about the most, and the one she considers to be critical for her generation is climate justice.

Telesia’s film “Telesia 2 the World” has so far been selected for four Film Festivals in the US, UK and New Zealand, including Māoriland Film Festival. For the last three years, Telesia has been a facilitator for the “Pasifika Youth Short Film Competition,” run by social enterprise Poporazzi Productions, where she helps Pasifika youth to tell their stories through film. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

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