Introduce yourself and tell us what you do for a job?
Ko hoku hingoa ko Sela Corbett. My mother is from Kolovai, Tonga, and my father is from Takapuna, Auckland. I grew up in Māngere Bridge, Auckland, and attended Onehunga High School. I am one of four girls and I now have three children of my own.
I am a career firefighter with Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), stationed in Remuera, Auckland.
Tell us about your pathway from school to where you are now.
In my final year of high school I gained University Entrance. I chose to enrol in the GAP programme, which placed me in an outdoor pursuits camp in Scotland for a year. I then returned to New Zealand and studied Sport and Rec at the Southern Institute of Tech in Invercargill.
Following this I worked as a gym instructor and personal trainer for a few years. I then decided to join Air New Zealand as an international flight attendant, which I did for six years. I returned to work after having children, as the tennis coordinator for Next Gen Health Club. In 2020, in the middle of our first COVID lockdown, I joined FENZ as a firefighter.
What’s the most challenging part of your job, and what is the most rewarding?
One of the challenging parts of our role is responding to medical emergencies. These can be quite confronting and require us to be mentally strong and focused. We need to be able to handle that kind of pressure.
The most rewarding part of my job is that we go to work to help people. When someone is having the worst day of their life, we get to be the people that turn up and help.
What’s something most people don’t know about your line of work?
We don’t just attend fire calls. Some other emergencies we are called to are motor vehicle accidents, medical events, natural disaster emergencies, rescues (animal and human) and hazardous substance emergencies.
We also do home fire safety visits and Fire Wise school visits, along with station duties.
What’s something you wish you knew when you were making your career decisions?
It’s okay to not know exactly what you want to do when you finish high school. Just focus on doing something as all jobs and courses offer important skills and experience. Everything is building blocks for your next career move.
Why did you sign up to be an Inspiring the Future role model?
It’s okay to not know exactly what you want to do when you finish high school. Just focus on doing something as all jobs and courses offer important skills and experience. Everything is building blocks for your next career move.
What did you enjoy most about the Inspiring the Future event?
I loved seeing the excitement the children had when they asked questions.
Was there a particular moment where you felt like you connected with or inspired any of the tamariki?
When I revealed my occupation and talked about where I grew up and what school I went to I could see the children were engaged and interested to know more.
What did you learn during the Inspiring the Future event?
I learnt that we all have a story, and if we share our story, hopefully we can positively influence our future generation and get them excited about joining the workforce.
What would you say to anyone thinking about signing up to be a role model?
Our young people need role models. The world has changed so much from when I was a teenager and I feel our young people need more support than ever before.
Help them see what they can be.