Alumnus Colin Chan Chui returned to OHS today to speak with students considering a career in medicine.

Colin, who was Head Boy of the school in 2015, always knew he wanted to serve his Samoan people and become a doctor. 

He joined the Māori and Pacific Admission Scheme (MAPAS) whānau at Auckland University. MAPAS is designed to support students in achieving their goals, empowering them to contribute meaningfully to the growth of the Māori and Pacific health workforce in New Zealand.

Colin found being part of MAPAS invaluable. He was surrounded by Māori and Pacific students who were like him and ambitious. MAPAS helps students academically, financially, and pastorally throughout their studies.

Colin was inspired to study medicine at school. He was researching Type 2 diabetes and learnt that Pasifika people were overrepresented in diabetes statistics and New Zealand needed more Pasifika doctors.

After leaving OHS, Colin first completed a Certificate of Health Sciences before graduating with a Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) and a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. He is now a first-year junior doctor at Middlemore Hospital.

His advice to those students wishing to pursue medicine is to work hard; you will need to get good grades to achieve the rank score needed to be accepted into Biomed or Health Science. Studying medicine and working as a doctor requires considerable sacrifice. While others are out enjoying some spare time, you can expect to be studying. The rewards for Colin are that he gets to help people when they are at their most vulnerable. He can speak to some of his patients in their language and ensure they feel understood and valued. One day, he hopes to take his skills back to Samoa to help improve the health outcomes of his people.

We are extremely proud of Colin’s achievements and are very grateful to him for giving up his valuable time to inspire our students.