Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) student Sakiusa Natasere says his dreams have come true.
The 18-year-old of Vunimono, Tailevu, is a first year student of MBBS at the Fiji School of Medicine (FSM) in Suva.
He is the only child in his family and is grateful for the National Toppers Scholarship (NTS) which has helped with his fees.
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He graduated from Marist Brothers High School in 2016 and joined the University of the South Pacific for foundation studies before he applied for the scholarship and joined FSM at the beginning of this year.
Sakiusa said since childhood, he had accompanied his mother, a nurse, to hospitals where he admired the work of the doctors.
“I used to stay overnight with my mum in the hospital and always admired the doctors with their uniforms doing their general duties.
“It came to me as a motivation and inspiration to enroll into medicine and choose a career path in medicine,” Sakiusa said.
He said the NTS had helped him and his family in difficult times.
“When I had enquired about the medicine programme, I found out that the course costs over the six years would be over the budget for my family.
“When I applied for the scholarship in medicine, I prayed that I get it because I really wanted to build my career in medicine as a general practitioner as no other field caught my interest before,” Sakiusa said.
When he compared the multiethnic scholarship with the NTS, Sakiusa said the NTS was a better scheme.
He said the NTS scheme did not need to recognise anyone’s racial background to award the scholarship.
“NTS does not divide anyone in terms of their racial background.
“It recognises the effort and potential of one’s capabilities,” Sakiusa said.
Edited by Jonathan Bryce
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