Studying law has not been an easy feat for 23-year-old Akosita Nayacalevu.

Being a regular patient at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital made the task a mammoth undertaking for her.

During her second year in law school, Ms Nayacalevu was diagnosed with a heart condition, that forced her to miss classes for weeks at a time.

She said on many instances while sitting on her hospital bed she entertained the idea of dropping out of law school because of the pressure and intensity that came with law studies.

However, she soared on with a stern support system by her aside and thought of the end goal to complete her studies, to make her mother proud.

An emotional Ms Nayacalevu, from Serua with maternal links to Beqa, on Friday joined 41 other lawyers to be admitted to the bar by Acting Chief Justice Kamal Kumar.

She becomes the third person in her family to join the legal fraternity.

“Growing up I always wanted to help people, that was my aspiration to help people wherever God placed me and I found that it was in the legal profession,” Ms Nayacalevu said.

“The past six months which was for my Professional Diploma in Legal Practice (PDLP) was intense.

“I was always at the hospital because I have this heart condition and there were times I wanted to give up because of the demands of our studies.

“It was all through God’s grace that I managed to complete the course.”

The number of friends she made at CWM Hospital is testament to the amount of time she spent there and her desire to pursue medical law.

“Going in and out of hospital affected my studies, but I was really blessed to have teachers and especially lecturers who understood my condition,” she said.

Ms Nayacalevu’s father passed away when she was two years old, a reality she still has a hard time accepting.

“But I am grateful to God and to my family for helping me through it,” she said.

“I wish he was alive to see this day that I worked so hard for. I am grateful to have completed it and achieved my dream.”

She aspires to follow in her cousin’s footsteps, Seruwaia Nayacalevu and pursue either family or medical law.

Nayacalevu dedicated her achievement to single mothers.

Her advice to youths, “Continue trusting in God because at the end of the day He is all that matters.”.

Edited by Percy Kean

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