Mother-of-three overcomes challenges
Amother-of-three went through a lot of challenges to be able to be able to complete tertiary education, but they did not stop her from striving for her goal. Kelera Vusoniyasi, 34, was among 114 graduates who successfully graduated from Fulton Adventist University College at Sabeto, Nadi, during a graduation ceremony yesterday. Mrs Vusoniyasi, who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Education, also had the highest grade point average (GPA) scoring 2.90 out of 3.
She said the challenges she faced along the way encouraged her to keep reaching for that goal.
Mrs Vusoniyasi got married when she was 19 and left secondary education at Fulton College in Tailevu to look after her first born. “My aunt is a lecturer at Fulton College and she told me one day that I should finish my studies, I was studying in Fulton when I was in high school in Tailevu and then I got married and stayed home,” she said.
“I did not continue my studies because I had to look after my child at that time and I was 19 when I got married.”
She said over the years, after reminiscing on her aunt’s encouraging words to return to school and complete her education, she decided to take that step to live her dream.
“So, in 2015 I decided to take that step, but the biggest challenge for me was that I couldn’t secure a Tertiary Education Loans Scheme (TELS) because of my age, but I am grateful to the registrar of the school who organised a sponsor to support my education,” she said.
“Also, another challenge for me was travelling to school daily and leaving home at 7.30am and then I had to come back home to see to my children.”
She said despite all these challenges she was blessed to have her husband, Timoci Vusoniyasi, with her every step of the way.
So, in 2015 I decided to take that step, but the biggest challenge for me was that I couldn’t secure a Tertiary Education Loans Scheme (TELS) because of my age, but I am grateful to the registrar of the school who organised a sponsor to support my education. Kelera Vusoniyasi Fulton Adventist University College graduate