Bulou Mareta Lewatale hoped to pursue further education when she finished high school, but the lack of finance hampered her plans.

So, she ended up living in her village, Komave, Baravi, Nadroga.

Eventually, after years of struggle she eventually made her way back to the classroom with the determination to do well.

Yesterday, the 25-year-old graduated with a Diploma in Information Technology Networking and expressed her hope to make a difference to all young people out there, especially the ones living in rural villages.

Bulou Mareta graduated at the graduation ceremony for the Fiji National University College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (CAFF) and National Training and Productivity Centre (NTPC) at the FMF Gymnasium, Suva.

54 students graduated from the college of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (CAFF) and 136 from National Training and Productivity Centre (NTPC).

In an interview after the graduation, Bulou Mareta spoke of her initial struggle to get back to school.

“After high school I was hoping to further my studies, but couldn’t since we were facing financial problems, so I ended up helping my mum with wedding stuff while in the village,” she said.

“There’s a few like me who are struggling in the village and trying to make ends meet in their everyday life, not only in my village but other villagers too, so we always encouraged our family members to take on every opportunity that came their way.

Bulou Mareta is excited about being the first in her family of three siblings to graduate from a tertiary institution.

She said there were a few times when things got a bit tougher than expected and there were moments of self-doubt halfway through the semester.

“During the first semester few of us did not have any available computer, so we had to either use our own laptops or work with the person next to us,” she said.

“Sometimes we had to miss our lunch time to finish our assignments.”

The 25-year-old dedicated her success to her family and friends for pushing her to reach the limit to where she is today and helping her to be the person she is today.

She also thanked her two lecturers, Manpreet Singh and Jashvir Singh, because without them she wouldn’t have made it this far.

Another graduate, Amit Kishore, said he had to stay awake until 3am to study and complete assignments because he had to go to work every day.

The 27-year-old graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Leadership and Management.

“I do not get time during the day to study, so I have to sacrifice my sleep and study at night,” said Mr Kishore.

He dedicated his success to his parents, who supported him all the way.

Edited by Epineri Vula

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