With a face and a smile that needed no introduction, a former Miss Samoa-turned-medical-practitioner is elated to be back home to give back to her people.

In an exclusive interview with the Samoa Observer on Friday, Dr. Taralina Gae'e-Atefi fought back her tears as she talked about how she felt being back in the country after spending years abroad with her husband and children. 

While admitting that moving back to Samoa was not easy, the doctor said it has been "wonderful" to serve her people and country once again. 

Crowned Miss Samoa in 1999, she served her people wearing the crown and Miss Samoa sash, but now she takes care of her people wearing a stethoscope.  

"It's been wonderful since I've been back," Dr. Atefi said. "It feels nice reconnecting back to the motherland, reconnecting back to the people and my family. It's been very wonderful. 

"It wasn't easy for me to make the decision to return to Samoa because I had a good career overseas, and I was on the pathway to getting into specialist areas of research.

"Also I had to convince my whole family to come to Samoa with me. It wasn't an easy decision for us. But somehow, the motherland calls and so here I am."

Since moving back to Samoa earlier this year, Dr. Atefi said she has been able to get to know her friends once again and reconnect with her family. 

"It's like we never left."

But the icing on the cake for Dr. Atefi is that she gets to spend time with her dad and take care of him and she added, "Family is everything and means so much to us. 

"There's a duty to serve the family, duty to serve humanity, and duty to serve the country."

Speaking of service to the people, Dr. Atefi also shared her experience as a former holder of the Miss Samoa title, which she says has helped her with her work as a doctor. 

"In a way yes," she said, with a smile on her face. "It gave me some sort of background on how to be with people but being a doctor is like taking it to the next step. 

"But it's such a joy being of service to the people and our country."

She said there have been occasions when she went about her work when her patients told her that she looked familiar. 

"And often when they say that, I just respond and say maybe they've seen me on television or something. But most of the time I just leave it at that and go about doing my job. "

Dr. Atefi is in the country with her children while her husband will join them in a fortnight. Speaking of her husband, she said, "He is also very excited because he is not from the motherland but he is happy to come and serve with me."

A distinct background in medical research is among her listed skills, in addition to Western, Eastern, and traditional medical training. 

Dr. Atefi holds a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (1996-2001) and a Masters in Medical Research (2014) from Griffith University in Australia. She also has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (2003-2008) from the Fiji School of Medicine as well as a Ph.D. in Geriatrics and Telemedicine from the University of Queensland.