Pursuing her passion: Anna Patuwai.

Once Anna Patuwai had a taste of tertiary education at EIT, there was no going back.

The now-graduated 22-year-old signed up at EIT Tairāwhiti to study the Certificate in Business Administration then progressed on to the New Zealand Diploma in Business. Two graduations later she is now working full-time and well on the way to planning her own business.

“The study at EIT was a lot more wholesome than you get at a university,” says Anna.

“I loved the interaction with the lecturers, meeting new people and studying”.

The certificate had touched on everything, and made her realise she wanted to continue her studies.

“We covered so much – from basic skills, to a mock work environment so you experienced different roles to see what you liked, from accounting, to business administration, marketing and more. It was fantastic.”

When Anna started her full-time job as administrator for Te Ara Tika Trust, she was confident and ready to work.

She hopes in the future to establish her own business that helps youth in Tairāwhiti. “Once I received my diploma, it solidified for me
that I want to pursue a life-long passion of working with at-risk youth.”