{"id":338516,"date":"2025-12-10T02:59:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T02:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/338516\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T02:59:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T02:59:11","slug":"black-fern-maia-joseph-wants-to-complete-her-medical-degree-while-still-chasing-her-rugby-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/338516\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Fern Maia Joseph wants to complete her medical degree while still chasing her rugby dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe are still in the process of working out what next year will look like with the Otago Medical School and New Zealand Rugby. However, I am really excited to continue doing both,\u201d Maia told the Herald.<\/p>\n

\"BlackBlack Fern Maia Joseph is heading back to university to complete her medical degree. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a big sacrifice taking time away from medical school for the past two years, so I am extremely excited to head back. It will definitely be a busy year, but when you love what you are doing and you wouldn\u2019t want to be doing anything else, it feels easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maia was born in Wellington but moved to Dunedin while still in primary school. Dunedin is still home for her.<\/p>\n

Maia\u2019s love of rugby comes from her dad; who played test rugby for both the All Blacks and Japan. Her desire to become a doctor came after she completed high school.<\/p>\n

\"BlackBlack Fern Maia Joseph at the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a mixture between having a real interest in the topic, that likely comes from being an athlete, as well as wanting to help create a healthcare system that really serves my M\u0101ori wh\u0101nau,\u201d Maia said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past five years, these are still the main reasons why I am so excited to become a doctor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am unsure what area of medicine I will want to pursue. There are many areas that interest me. However, it won\u2019t be until I finish placements as well as my rugby career that I can focus on specialising.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was still focused on being the best rugby player she could be, including continuing to play for Black Ferns and Matat\u016b<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Joseph sisters preparing for a night out together. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

Maia comes from a close-knit wh\u0101nau and has an older sister Lydia, younger brother Ben and younger sister Lula.<\/p>\n

Jamie is currently head coach of the Highlanders and the All Blacks XV.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got my love of rugby from dad and brains probably from mum,\u201c Maia laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMum is an artist and some of her paintings are hanging in South Island galleries which is pretty amazing. She is also the smartest person I know. So yes, I do get my brains from her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DadDad Jamie Joseph with daughter Maia and mum Mandy. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

She said her parents both loved what they do.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s the reason why I am striving for two different things – play rugby and do medicine as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said her own superpower was \u201cmy drive\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hard working and want to achieve things at a high level,\u201d Maia said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a proud New Zealander and proud M\u0101ori.\u201d<\/p>\n

She has three more years of medical school study to go in her quest to be a doctor.<\/p>\n

\"MaiaMaia Joseph is going places fast on and off the pitch. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

That could take longer depending on rugby commitments.<\/p>\n

In the two years since she got an NZ Rugby contract she said she had \u201cgrown immensely\u201d as a person after being around the Black Ferns environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I am really determined to keep giving back to the team on and off the field.,\u201d Maia said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very lucky to have very supportive parents they are huge reasons why I am able to do what I do. They\u2019re both big inspirations for me and have helped me achieve both of my dreams. They are very proud and happy that I have found careers that I really enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joseph Los\u2019e joined NZME in 2022 as the Kaupapa M\u0101ori Editor. Los\u2019e was chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and before NZME worked for urban M\u0101ori organisation Wh\u0101nau Waipareira.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWe are still in the process of working out what next year will look like with the Otago…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338517,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,188336,303,129779,164770,188335,11558,6619,24243,24981,188332,8840,8218,188334,188333,8122,1919,19430,760,16874,85,4031,17953,23180,92256,6449,319,130035,5399,1050,3605,1547],"class_list":["post-338516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-becoming","tag-black","tag-chasing","tag-closer","tag-commitments","tag-complete","tag-degree","tag-doctor","tag-dream","tag-fern","tag-her","tag-joseph","tag-juggle","tag-maia","tag-medical","tag-next","tag-rising","tag-rugby","tag-sporting","tag-sports","tag-star","tag-step","tag-still","tag-studies","tag-takes","tag-to","tag-wants","tag-while","tag-will","tag-with","tag-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/338517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}