Moving from Zimbabwe after high school, EIT Hawke’s Bay graduate Karen Vickery eagerly embraced the opportunity for a New Zealand tertiary education.
In the six years since, the 25-year-old has gained her Bachelor of Business Studies and gone on to complete her Graduate Diploma in Professional Accounting – a significant step towards qualifying as a chartered accountant.
Excelling in her studies and highly commended by business faculty staff, Karen has been chosen as one of two valedictorians who will take a leading role in EIT’s graduation ceremony, being held in Napier on March 27.
“You do feel a sense of accomplishment and recognition,” she says of the honour.
The thought of making a valedictory speech may be a little nerve-racking, but Karen feels sure she’ll be fine on the day.
None of the family had been to New Zealand when her mother, Christina Brown, moved here in mid-2003. A nurse, she explored options for registering in New Zealand with EIT’s School of Nursing.
Karen, meanwhile, was keen to study accounting, and had already researched courses offered in New Zealand. “EIT was the first to get back to me,” she recalls.
So it was that mother and daughter both ended up studying at EIT. Karen’s challenges weren’t over, however. She started studying by correspondence and not having done accounting at school, found it “quite tricky teaching it to yourself”.
Once these hurdles were behind her, she was able to sharpen the focus on her studies.
“It made a big difference being on campus,” she says. “It’s amazing what you learn going to lectures.”
Small class numbers meant it was easy getting to know fellow students and to ask questions of the lecturers. Another plus of being at EIT was the opportunities for job placements.
While studying, Karen worked for Taylor Ogier and found the small chartered accountants’ firm in Onekawa a very nurturing workplace.
Described by EIT staff as reserved but a highly capable and thoughtful achiever, Karen is loath to dwell on her many academic and personal successes.
“I’m getting to sound like a supernerd,” she protests, having revealed that she was last year’s winner of the PricewaterhouseCoopers prize for academic excellence for a BBS student doing an accounting major.
She fails to add that she also received the Niki Hibberd Memorial Cup, presented in honour of the late head of the School of Commerce who died tragically young, and the BDO Spicers Award for the best all-round BBS student.
Now working for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Napier, Karen is loving her “really good job”, studying for her professional exams and anticipating personal travel to Australia and Europe.
“I love New Zealand,” the young immigrant says, “I really do. There are just so many opportunities.”
She is equally enthusiastic about EIT and her study programme. “The whole environment is so wonderful – I really enjoyed it.”