A Tongan student who did not think she could pass her accountancy course, last week collected the prize for Best Overall Performance in the Bachelor of Business Accountancy at Unitec’s prize night.
Makalita Fane Hoeft, 24, who now works as a Project Accountant for the European Union under the Ministry of Finance and National Planning in Tonga, said that when her first year at accounting class began she felt downhearted when she realised how ethnically diverse her class was.
She said she had a feeling many people in the class saw her as young.
Hoeft said there were a number of other Tongans and Pacific Islanders in the class, but they started quitting the class as semesters went past.
She said that was one of the motivation that drove her in her study. She knew the course was not easy, but she had the courage to pursue it.
In her last semester she was the only Tongan in the class. One Fijian and one Samoan completed the course.
“My last semester was the most challenging because I was required to complete IBL internship hours and also two papers,” Hoeft said.
“I worked full time for the BCL in the city.
“I had to wake up early at 5am to take the bus to the city for work and took a bus back after work to get my evening classes.”
Hoeft said she learned a lot after she completed her degree and knew that being successful did not mean she knew everything, “but it’s all about working hard.”
She said she wanted to encourage Pacific People to study hard.
“To all Pacific and Tongan students, believe in yourself. Remember your home, pray and work hard, trust in Lord as He stands by you to help,” she said.
“I am proud to be a Tongan.”
Hoeft arrived in New Zealand in 2014, leaving her parents and family behind in Tonga to study as an international student.
She stayed with a cousin in Mt Roskill and most of the time relied financially on families in Auckland for her daily needs.
Hoeft went to Tonga High School, the government’s top school and attended the Tonga Institute of Education. She said she tried unsuccessfully several times to obtain a government scholarship to study in New Zealand.
Her parents eventually paid her fees at Unitec, despite the struggle this involved.
Hoeft comes from Ngele’ia in Tongatapu. Her parents are Kaivei and Dorothy Hoeft.
Her father comes from Koulo and Lotofoa, Haapai and her mother is from Kolomotua.
Hoeft said she did not expect she would win the award as she only enrolled in 2014.
It was a great challenge for her to complete her study in one and-a-half years, but she knew the difficulties her parents faced in paying for her fees.
She said she believed someone else in the class would get the award because she looked down on herself.
“I thought to myself I was new and I came from Tonga and it could take a lot of time before I picked up the courses in business in New Zealand,” she said.
“To God be thy glory great things He hath done.”
Hoeft said she was overwhelmed with joy when she learned she had won the award for the outstanding performance.
“No words can express how I felt at that moment,” she said.
“My message to our Pacific students who are looking for study and are currently studying is a quote that always encourages me: ‘Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.’ ”
The main points
- A Tongan student who did not think she could pass her accountancy course, last week collected the prize for Best Overall Performance in the Bachelor of Business Accountancy at Unitec’s prize night.
- Makalita Fane Hoeft Hoeft, who now works as a Project Accountant for the European Union under the Ministry of Finance and National Planning in Tonga, said that when her first year at accounting class began she felt downhearted when she realised how ethnically diverse her class was.
- Hoeft said she was overwhelmed with joy when she learned she had won the award for the outstanding performance.
- She said she learned a lot after she completed her degree and knew that being successful did not mean she knew everything, “but it’s all about working hard.”
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