Extending her stay, expanding her impact: Isabella's volunteer journey in Samoa
When Isabella Patrick first set foot in Samoa, it wasn’t with the intention of becoming a volunteer. She was there for six weeks, conducting fieldwork for her master’s degree, but she quickly found herself drawn to the warmth of the people and the rhythm of community life.
Keen to stay longer, Isabella connected with a few people and was then introduced to Lagi, the Samoa Programme Manager for Volunteer Service Abroad Te Tūao Tāwahi (VSA). Together, they worked with the Samoa Tourism Authority (STA) to design a role that matched both the organisation’s needs and her skills. What began as a simple idea to extend her stay soon grew into a meaningful volunteer placement as a Climate Change Financing Assistant.
Isabella’s assignment was both timely and important. The climate change unit within STA had only recently been developed, and much of her work involved research to support the team’s efforts. She also helped with workshops and community outreach, travelling to different offices and villages to support workshops and events on energy efficiency and climate change awareness. While others led the presentations, Isabella played a key role behind the scenes with her research, organising logistics and supporting her colleagues to ensure that the events ran smoothly.
Adjusting to a new work environment brought its own challenges. Coming from an academic background, Isabella was used to working independently, but in Samoa she learned the value of collective effort. She also embraced the language barrier, picking up basic Samoan phrases and joining in on the daily banter with her colleagues. Outside of work, she immersed herself in the cultural richness of village life, where everything, from the gym to church, was community-centred.
One unexpected gift from her placement was the way it shaped her future studies. Conversations with colleagues and communities helped her refine her PhD proposal, grounding her academic work in lived experience. “Quite often in research, you read about challenges without ever experiencing them yourself,” Isabella reflected. “I was lucky to live and learn in Samoa, and that made all the difference.” Her doctoral research now focuses on finding ways to make climate financing more accessible to communities and exploring pathways through faith-based and civil society organisations.
Volunteering has also reignited Isabella’s professional drive. She found herself motivated by purpose and the shared vision of her team, who were all working toward the same goal of strengthening communities through climate action. What stood out the most was the sense of connection – building strong relationships with her colleagues, collaborating across agencies and being welcomed into a community that valued collective effort. Those bonds, both professional and personal, gave Isabella a deeper appreciation for the impact of working together for positive change.
Isabella’s advice to others considering volunteering is simple – just do it. “If you’re thinking about it, your heart’s already in the right place,” she says. “It’s an opportunity to grow, to give back and to connect in ways you’ll never forget.”
Isabella will return to Samoa next year for her PhD fieldwork, but her time as a volunteer has already left a lasting mark, deepening her career path, strengthening her community connections and enriching her understanding of how skilled volunteering can create meaningful change.
