Liwaliwa Acknowledges Husband’s Support to Graduate
Filise Liwaliwa-Soqovata, acknowledged her husband Sanaila Soqovata and two daughters as her source of inspiration as she graduated to becoming a nurse last week. Ms Liwaliwa-Soqovata, who is originally from Namajiu, Nakasaleka, Kadavu graduated with Bachelors of Nursing from Fiji National University (FNU) at the Vodafone Arena.
She speaking about her husband and her daughters Laisani, one-year-old and nine-months-old and Elise, nine-month-old, she said: “I thank my husband for being the pillar of strength there for me whenever I needed him in this journey. My two daughters are my great motivation for this last semester.
“Whenever I wanted to give up, the thought of them going through the same struggle I went through during my school days kept pushing me forward. I just don’t want to see them struggle the way I did.
“The challenges of going to class with an empty stomach almost every morning, being in a hostel without pocket money for daily necessities, crying alone when missing home has finally come to an end.” In 2020 she was pregnant, and wasn’t able to cope well with her studies. Thus, she had to move out of the hostel and move in with her husband
in Kalabu.
In 2021, she completed semester 1 and decided to defer and complete her studies this year for semester 2.
She enrolled again for semester 2 with the continuous push from her husband to complete her studies. “I managed to pass my second year in nursing with the help of friends, lecturers and my husband,” she said.
Background
Her father was a yaqona farmer while mother stayed at home. She grew up in the village with her five siblings which they all attended boarding school from year one till year 13.
She managed to manage to pull through secondary school despite all the struggles. Finally, she went to Suva for further studies and completed foundation studies in 2018 before she joined FNU in 2019.
“I’m looking forward to working as a registered nurse and to care for patients in every possible way I can. I am also planning to continue my studies to midwifery level when the right time comes,” she said. Mr Soqovata, who is a Police constable, said seeing her wife graduate was a proud moment for him. “I could always see that she was very passionate about her dream in nursing. It was my responsibility to see that she achieves her profession,” he said.