Loata Waqanivavalagi attends online classes from the comfort of her home.

Loata Waqanivavalagi, a Bachelor of Media and Communication student, is a strong advocate of education. She believes learning assists in self-development and strengthens career advancement prospects of individuals.

Waqanivavalagi, who took a break from work to pursue tertiary studies, said acquiring new skills and knowledge enables individuals to bring about more efficiency in the workforce.

“Having worked as a journalist, I enrolled full-time in this programme offered by Fiji National University’s (FNU) College of Humanities and Education (CHE) to upgrade my skills and get a formal qualification,” said the FNU student.

“Communication and media studies are one of the most exciting and rapidly evolving areas of study in today’s media-driven world,” she added.

The 28-year-old said the growing popularity of this sector requires professionals to be on par with the latest trends and technological developments, creating a strong need for upgrading your skills.

“This has been one of the toughest decisions, but I took it in good faith with the thought of further improving my journalistic, editorial skills and be able to communicate information to different audiences effectively.”

“Since the programme covers the latest trends in the media and communication market, I have been able to gain an insight into the fast-evolving digital and social media developments and the important role it plays in today’s world of information dissemination.”

“From the time I have joined this programme, my self-confidence about working in this profession has boosted, and I am confident that I will definitely be able to make a difference in the workforce with my increased ability to articulate and communicate factual information to the audiences.”

When asked about adjusting to the ‘new normal’ learning because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Waqanivavalagi admitted that it was a difficult transition.

“At first, I found it a bit challenging as there were so many distractions. I had to be self-disciplined to be able to work well on my own since there were no face-to-face classes and the lecturers were not physically present to remind me of the assignment deadlines and the reading that needed to be completed.”

“I managed to adjust to this new learning environment by writing up my daily schedule, made sure to check Moodle announcements every morning and spent at least two to three hours reading every day.”

Waqanivavalagi aspires to become a public relations and communications specialist.