As someone of Māori descent, I am sensitive to the experiences of Māori and Pasifika students within New Zealand’s education system. For many of these learners, the pathway to success in mathematics is not always clear. This is not due to a lack of ability, but rather because systemic structures and environmental factors can unknowingly create inequalities in different ethnic groups. In this keynote, I will attempt to paint a picture of the experience of being Māori through sharing my own stories, those of others and some of the solutions currently in place in Aotearoa. Between 2014 and 2019, I served as Programme Leader for Auckland University of Technology’s (AUT) Certificate of Science and Technology and continued to contribute to AUT’s Uniprep programme until recently. Both initiatives were specifically designed and developed to address disparities that can result from New Zealand’s pre-tertiary education system, particularly for Māori and Pasifika students. I will discuss these programmes and what they mean in terms of equitable access to tertiary STEM education for all.