Ka tupu ka hua te rau - J'Keyah Inia, te rau hāpai whakahono pito, brings her property skills to the land management team

J’Keyah Inia has to fit a lot into a day – which is why she can be found studying in her living room at 4am in the morning.

Her partner Jacob Mills and 10-month-old daughter Georgie sleep soundly as she works on the last two papers of a Bachelor of Business majoring in property through Massey University’s distance learning programme.

“Time is precious, so I get up and get straight into it, either watching a lecture or working on an assignment,” she says.

“Georgie wakes up at 6am or just after, then it’s time to be a mum and get us ready for the day and out the door by 7.30am, drop her off to one of her grandmothers and be at work by 8am.”

J’Keyah is a Te Rau Hāpai Whakahono Pito / Property Management Assistant at Parininihi ki Waitōtara, providing assistance to the property team in regards to the management, development and diversification of PKW’s core asset – whenua.

“One day I might be in the office, another day, out on the whenua, the next day out doing a commercial property inspection,” J’Keyah says. “Being here, I get exposed to a variety of property areas and roles that you don’t get typically exposed to when you are fresh out of studying.”

She joined the PKW whānau in April 2023, bringing with her an academic knowledge of property and an understanding of business.

“For the last six years, I have been working full time and studying both part-time and full-time. Property is something I have always been interested in. It’s so relevant and a smart career move for anyone looking to get into it,” says J’Keyah (Taranaki Iwi, Parihaka).

“With the development of technology and AI (artificial intelligence), property is such a precious taonga. It’s always going to require people to administer it and make those important decisions.”

In November she will complete her degree – her second.

She has already gained a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation, majoring in business and exercise science, from AUT and went on to run the Todd Energy Aquatic Centre Swim School.

“I have a love for all things water – swimming, surf lifesaving club (East End), surfing as a family, diving for kaimoana,” she says .“I spent a lot of my childhood in the water along State Highway 45.”

While originally from Ōpunakē, her whānau lived in New Plymouth and is included among the list of Te Rau Titikura / PKW shareholders.

She has two visions for her future. “Professionally, I want to be able to work in this sector and be of service to my whenua and my people in the Taranaki rohe,” she says.

“Personally, I want to be able to raise our family in this region and give my children the upbringing I enjoyed so much.”

Richard Buttimore, Te Rau Whakahono Pito / GM of Property, says J’Keyah brings fresh energy and a positive dynamic to the team and is keen to learn.”She has fitted in seamlessly with our values; our kaupapa. She gets it and lives and breathes it. It’s around understanding the legacy, where we come from, and the aspirations of the shareholders over managing the whenua. Helping to maintain that connection is all-important for PKW.”

J’Keyah says the importance of managing, caring for and protecting the whenua has become more important to her since having her first child.

That’s why she embraces the wisdom of an old whakataukī, which says:

“Manaaki whenua, manāki tāngata, haere whakamua.”

J’Keyah explains, “It means, if you look after the land, and look after the people, you will take care of the future.”