Prasad, 27, Makes Sacrifices To Attain Masters

At 27, Ashleen Prasad has attained her Masters in Business Administration. But she has had to endure many sacrifices that included keeping a regular job to earn a living to eventually achieve her goal.

She was among graduates who graduated from the University of Fiji at Saweni Campus in Lautoka yesterday.

Having started her MBA in 2015, she finally completed her studies last August because of financial constraints which was her hurdle along her journey to success.

The many people behind Ms Prasad’s success include her parents, who inspired her not to give up no matter what it took to come up with a desirable outcome.

“There were days when my parents hardly had a dollar for a regular meal yet they never asked for help from anyone nor did they leave us three sisters to starve. We actually had cassava and black tea for our two daily meals,” she said.

While studying for her MBA units she had sleepless nights because she had two jobs.

This was to pay for her fees and have enough money to earn her living.

“My day started at 3am and ended at 1am or so the next day. I was like committed seven days a week,” she said.

“It is true, that in order to get something you have to sacrifice, so that’s what I encountered.

“I gave up my leisure time. At the age of nine years, I was given the responsibility to help my dad sell vegetables, from house to house along the Nadi to Namaka corridor.

“At the age of 13 years I was selling fruits near the roadside over the weekend to support my secondary education.

“I was always reminded that education was priority, but at the same time I learned to shoulder responsibility.” While still a student she worked at the University of Fiji, for three years (2016-2018) and is currently employed by Rhum Ba as senior finance manager.

She is also the business development manager for their family business, FarmBoy.

“I would work from 5am to 7am at Farm Boy then get ready to go to university, which is the second work place and return by 6.30pm to FarmBoy from 6pm to 9pm or 10pm, have my dinner in between and then start with my studies or assignment or even sometimes I had to prepare fortnightly reports.”

Her two sisters Angeline, Anjali, best friend Muni Vikashni and brother-in-law Akshay, have always been a shoulder to lean on when the going got tough.

“In the end my hard work and patience made me who I am today. I salute my parents who gave me responsibilities at a young age. That is the reason I value time and money,” Ms Prasad said.

Edited by Percy Kean