‘Girl from Vaimea’ honoured with teaching award

Dr Keil (Vaimea, Moamoa, and Afiamalu/Sāmoa) says her upbringing and family values have been the foundation of her success, with her mother, Britta Forsgren, being a constant source of encouragement.

“When I called my mum to tell her, filled with pride she said, ‘Just think, you’re just a little girl from Vaimea.’ That really stayed with me,” says the Sociology lecturer.

She says the award also gave her time to reflect about her teaching practise, and its development over the years.

“You never know when you apply, so it was really nice for me to reflect on all of my teaching. It reminded me how far I’ve come, but also how deeply rooted I am, in where I started.”

It’s that starting point that Keil has built into a solid foundation underpinning an effective and impactful teaching practice.

Power of Tuakana

“As a student, I tended to set aside my Sāmoan identity, believing that academic success required me to adapt to ways of thinking and acting that didn’t reflect my cultural background.”

Keil’s first paid role at the University in 2011 was as a Tuakana mentor.

“It moved me into a teaching and mentoring role, working with students in a way that gave me permission to bring my Samoan culture into teaching and learning spaces.

“Tuakana was the first real opportunity to bring those two things together and see the value of bringing my Pacific lens into a teaching and learning space that resonated with students.”

Her approach, grounded in relational teaching and cultural responsiveness, also demonstrated the appeal of using Indigenous concepts.

“I quickly realised that a Pacific approach isn’t just for Pacific students—it resonates with all students. Building relationships, remembering names, creating a sense of belonging—these are universal needs.

“I make a real concerted effort to remember students’ names. When they ask a question, if I don’t know them, I’ll ask their name and repeat it, just to cultivate that relationship. Because our names are so important… it gives a feeling of ‘you know me.’”

Her academic career has also been interwoven with family milestones. Keil and her husband, Edward Moore, are parents to three children: Sophia (16), Carmine (11), and Vito (3). Every degree earned coincided with the birth of each child; she fondly calls them “my gifts from my different degrees.”

Having progressed over the past 14 years as a mentor, tutor, and then lecturer at the University, Keil says securing a permanent academic position in 2022 has been a highlight.

“I really feel I started from the ground up, in terms of cultivating and building myself, developing as a teacher—it was really important where I started.

“Tuakana gave me permission from the very beginning to bring my full self into teaching.”

Her teaching spans stage-one sociology papers on social policy and social justice, gender studies, and postgraduate courses on family, gender, and the state. Keil’s research focuses on how family-related policies respond to Pacific families and communities.

Reflecting on the Journey

Completing her teaching portfolio gave Keil time to reflect on her academic and teaching career, and the people who have inspired her right from the very beginning.

“After I finished, I felt proud because I could see the big and small things I’ve done over the years. There are so many people who have supported and contributed to my journey.

“I’d like to acknowledge my teachers in Sāmoa who made a difference in my life: my Peace Chapel Primary School teacher, Suzanne, who demonstrated the value of relational teaching and showed me what it means to teach with empathy and care. And my Robert Louis Stevenson High School teacher, Mrs Fale Tomane, who was a powerful inspiration that pushed me to strive for excellence.”