Language Educator (Rotuman) at Pasifika Education Centre
With no prior degree, Fesaitu Sarote Solomone decided to pursue a Business qualification to expand her career scope and secure her future career.
Key facts
Career: Language Educator (Rotuman), Pasifika Education Centre
Programme: Postgraduate Diploma in Business, MBA
Prior degree: None
I have never studied in a university nor undertaken an undergraduate programme. Being in my profession for over 20 years, the theoretical part of my study validated the practical work I already had in motion.
“It has always a long-term goal for me to support my family financially, especially my parents and seven siblings. As the only child in our family to complete high school, I had to work extra hard. After 10 years of working at Fiji Television, I ventured into Aotearoa and secured a role with Sky Television Network Ltd.
“I decided to pursue a Business degree to expand my career scope, step out and do something completely different. It would become my safety net for my future career aspirations.
“Undertaking two jobs and study at the same time called for commitment, perseverance, resilience, time-management and focus. It also required a support system made up of family members, close friends and work colleagues who mentored and coached me continuously during my study.
“One of the key things I learned from my programme was the importance of leadership, especially in a volatile business landscape. Great leadership must be embedded with strong values that align and support the organisation’s culture and drive people to understand their value in the wider scheme of things.
“With all these key learnings, my 24 years of broadcast/digital content experience and my Rotuman language knowledge, I was able to step out of Sky Television and do something completely different through consultancy work.
“I was able to utilise those core skill sets to support Government and key organisations in their work during the global pandemic and lockdown in Aotearoa and serve my community. I consulted for other projects while continuing to work as a Language Educator for the Rotuman language at Pasifika Education Centre.
“As a Pacific woman, I believe that education has a huge part to play for Pacific people in further uplifting ourselves. This degree open doors and enables access to networks to grow one’s career.”