Taveuni girl makes parents proud
When Shalvina Reddy left her parents in Taveuni 10 years ago, she was aware of their expectations of her.
Ms Reddy was sent to Suva by her father in 2011 to attend Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School in the hope that she would do better in a more competitive environment. On Friday, she made her parents proud after she graduated with her Bachelor of Dental Surgery from the Fiji National University’s School of Dentistry and Oral Health. For the 24-year-old, change is what she hopes to bring about in the dental profession in the country. “I have always wanted to become a dentist because I had noticed that we have a lot of oral health issues in Fiji with our infrastructure and resources sometimes limited,” Ms Reddy said. “As a new graduate, change is what we aspire to bring into the profession.
“As students we were always discussing ways of change within the profession and today is a new change itself because it is the first ever dental graduation, we organised ourselves as students since FNU had cancelled its Annual graduation ceremony.
“Hopefully when we enter the work field, we will be able to come up with new changes and reinforcements in the dental system.”
She said though she had been separated from her family for close to 10 years, their support has always been an encouraging factor.
“We live in Taveuni and I actually grew up there, my father sent me to Suva because he thought I did not have enough competition on the island. He wanted me to have competition so that I could excel. “I was a recipient of the National Toppers Scheme.
“Even though they were away from me, they supported me in every single way.” She has advised students who aspire to take up Dentistry not to be discouraged with the suspension of the TELS and Toppers scholarship this year.
“Dentistry is the most expensive course in FSM now and I know most students who want to take up this course will be struggling to pay for their courses.
“Look for other avenues and continue to push for the reinstatement of these scholarships so just don’t lose hope yet.”