We’ve had some truly fantastic people come through our Taurima programme, and every one of them accepted a permanent position at the agency within 6 to 12 months of starting as an intern. Some are still with us (with a couple of promotions), while others have jumped into exciting new roles in other parts of Aotearoa and the world.

Looking back, we’ve been part of creating project coordinators, project executives and project managers, social media coordinators and specialists and media specialists.

Te Maia Gage-Gray (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is the latest to join Hemisphere as a Taurima.

We asked Te Maia to tell us a bit about him and why he joined Hemisphere.

And what he’s enjoying so far…

“Kia ora! I’m Te Maia. I recently joined Hemisphere in the role of Taurima Hokohoko — Marketing Intern. Alongside my time in the office, I’m undergoing a Bachelor of Design Innovation at Te Herenga Waka (Victoria University of Wellington).

Following an eye-opening summer internship in Tauranga, I was eager to balance my year between study and real-world application. Although only a few weeks in, it’s safe to say I’ve had quite the rolling start with the team already involving me in several innovative projects and social change campaigns.

My ambition to join Hemisphere was fuelled by connecting with Tim, and further rifling through the company website. The opportunity to work alongside a team of such high calibre and being involved in impactful creative initiatives is something that many students rarely encounter. Judging from what I’ve seen so far, I can’t emphasise enough how excited I am to be a part of the incredible work being done here.”

Hemisphere takes great pride in our role of uplifting rangatahi. We value the positive energy and fresh perspectives kaimahi like Te Maia bring to the tīma. Because all good relationships need to be two-way. And so, we view our Taurima programme as the perfect exchange of goals and values between ourselves and rangatahi.