People choose their careers for various reasons, such as financial stability, quality of work life, and personal passion. For Eseta Taleimaivavalagi, caregiving was her personal calling.
The 23-year-old from Rotuma Island recently graduated among 39 candidates from the Mauri Professional Caregiving Institute with a Certificate III in Individual Support and Community Care.
A former student of Suva Grammar School, Taleimaivavalagi initially pursued a law degree at the University of the South Pacific in 2019 but decided to take a break. During this time, she learned about the Certificate III course in Individual Support and Community Care.
“I found out about this course because the Mauri Professional Caregiving Institute is a Rotuman institute, and many Rotumans were notified quickly,” she said.
Switching from law to caregiving was not difficult for Taleimaivavalagi, as she already had experience in caregiving, which aligned with her cultural background and family values of compassion.
“I am a caregiver at home. I looked after my grandparents,” she shared, adding that she felt it was her calling to help the vulnerable.
“When I started attending my classes and practicals, everything felt wonderful. It was worth it. All the traveling and waking up at 3 am to attend classes have paid off.”
Now that she has graduated, Taleimaivavalagi hopes to return to university to complete her law degree.
“I still hope to finish my law degree, so fingers crossed I can do that now that I have graduated from this course,” she said.
She acknowledged her family and fiancé for being her biggest supporters during her academic journey. “They really helped me a lot through this,” she said.
Her advice to those aspiring to be caregivers is to be in it for the calling.
“If you don’t have the passion for this field, then it’s probably not for you. You need to have patience and treat it as a personal calling.”