The ravaging and devastating effects of Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016 did little to deter the ambitions of Mereoni Liku Lord.

When Fiji was experiencing the wrath of Cyclone Winston in February of the same year, Ms Lord was filling out an application form to pursue her Masters Degree in Tourism Management in the People’s Republic of China.

Thus, was the determination of the 28-year-old who never lost sight of her dream to make her mark in the tourism industry in Fiji.

Last week Ms Lord graduated from Hebei University in Baoding City with her graduate degree and level four proficiency in Chinese Mandarin language.

Adding to her list of achievements are the medals and certificates she won competing in kung fu for two years in national tournaments.

As Ms Lord explains it, after graduating from the University of the South Pacific in 2013 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism, she landed a job as an Assistant Labour Officer at the Ministry of Labour, Productivity and Industrial Relations.

However, her heart has always been won over by the beautiful isles that Fiji tourism has to offer and that A-list celebrities pay top buck to experience.

“Our country is growing into a very popular tourist destination and I want to contribute to it to better the economy,” she said.

“Even when I was with the Ministry of Labour my heart was still in tourism.”

“I found out about the scholarship when it was advertised in the Fiji Sun and I applied for it just to try my luck. Little did I know that I would be accepted to study abroad.”

“I clearly remember the day the Chinese Embassy in Fiji called me to inform me that I had been shortlisted for the scholarship interview. I thank the Chinese government for giving me this opportunity.”

Ms Lord said studying in China opened up opportunities for her to develop professionally, interact with people with global viewpoints and enabled her to travel to other countries.

She hopes to utilise her skills and knowledge to market Fiji’s tourist destinations to the world with focus on Asian countries.

“I want to work with tourism developers and planners to improve the standard of the tourism industry in Fiji in terms of marketing to the outside world.”

“One of our major target markets now is the Asian market but we are lacking Chinese language speakers. And also considering that now we have a lot of Chinese investments in Fiji there is a need for us to learn Chinese mandarin.”

Born and raised in a dairy farming community in Waimaro, Tailevu Ms Lord dedicated her success to her parents and widowed aunt whom she lived with in Nadawa, Suva.

She also acknowledged the Fijian community in Beijing especially the family of the Fijian Embassy Second Secretary Mrs Amelia Cobona-Werelagi for their constant support throughout her three years of study.

Her advice, “Never give up on your dreams and always have faith that the things you want in life will work out no matter the circumstances.”

“I applied for the scholarship at a time that the country was going through Cyclone Winston and I was convinced that they would cancel all scholarships to focus on rebuilding.”

“You can only do something if you have the willpower to do it. My dream has always been to join the tourism industry and joining the ministry of labour never stopped me from achieving that. Behind my dream I know there is something better for me and also for the country.”

Ms Lord returns to Fiji next month leaving behind fond memories of a country she adopted as her second home.