October 5, 2022

Lavenia Rataiki Ravuikadavu of Drasa Lautoka, made her parents proud after fulfilling their wishes by completing her tertiary education successfully and becoming a lawyer by profession.

Lavenia completed her tertiary education pursuing Law at the University of Fiji after being successfully awarded the Tertiary Education Loans Scheme (TELS) in 2014.

“I completed Year 13 in 2013 and received an acceptance letter from the University of Fiji in 2014,” she said. “I was informed about the TELS and to my utmost delight I was accepted and assisted under the Loans Scheme.”

She further added that the TELS was a blessing in disguise as she would not have been able to complete her tertiary qualification without the assistance.

“TELS played a significant role during my study – it basically provided me the much-needed financial assistance and support in terms of paying my fee for the four and a half years that I was in Law school,” she said. “When I applied for TELS I knew for a fact that my parents could not afford to pay for my fees hence the sponsorship was crucial during my academic journey as without it I don’t think I would be where I am today.”

She said the scholarship provided by the Fijian Government through TSLS provided her an opportunity to excel in a career of her choice and fulfil her parent’s dreams.

“My dad was a cane cutter at the time I was accepted at Uni Fiji and my mum was domesticated – my father’s FNPF would not have been able to pay for one semester alone – I am happy I made the best use of their advises and made them proud,” Ms. Lavenia said.

She continued “He’s pay was just enough to buy groceries hence when I received my offer letter and saw the fees schedule for the whole duration of my study, I had to look for some financial support to help my study because as much as I wanted to study at tertiary level, I knew that I had to either get a scholarship or obtain a loan. And TELS made it possible for me.”

Ms. Lavenia who currently works for S Nand Lawyers says her dream is to have a law firm of her own and she advises other sponsored students to study hard.

“My advice to other sponsored students is to study hard. Hard work is the key to success. Don’t indulge yourself too much in your youth and peer pressure. Know how to make time for fun and studies. So, study hard and make the most of the TELS scheme,” she said.

ENDS…

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