Life after Nisa: an update on Gioryanni's university studies

Gioryanni started working at Nisa in July 2020, working in our dispatch team while learning English at Victoria University of Wellington. She moved into the sewing team and became an ace despite having no prior experience! At the start of this year we said goodbye to Gioryanni so that she can pursue her dreams of becoming a dentist. She's since moved down to Dunedin to do a foundation year at the University of Otago, and has sent us an update on what her life is like now.

I am very happy to be in this new stage of my life fighting for my dreams. When I started the course, it was crazy because I had no experience and knowledge about the university world, and it was a bit difficult to organise and manage the time between lectures, tutorials, and assignments in 5 papers at the same time.

But so far, I feel that I have advanced a lot. I am very honest with myself, and I know that it is not easy for me because I have difficulty with some papers, especially maths and physics. But I reach the conclusion that I should not feel bad because the reason why I am here is that I do not know everything, and I am learning. What I have learned in this course is that each person has a way of learning, and you should never compare yourself and feel less than others.

One of my favourite classes so far is biology. Biology is a very interesting paper and I also like the teacher's way of teaching. The explanations that he gives step-by-step of each process are easier for me to understand well and, above all, enjoy the class. 

As for my social life, I feel that I am meeting new people. So far, I have met two girls from the course with whom I have made a good study team, since we share similar ideas and dreams, and in one way or another, we support each other. I feel very happy with them because they are very focused on their study, and I like to surround myself with that kind of friendship.

I feel that I've improved my English since being surrounded all the time by people who speak English fluently. While it is a great challenge, at the same time it is a great advantage for me.  I learned to trust myself more and feel more confident when it comes to expressing something without fear that I will pronounce something wrong or maybe they will not understand me.

Living in a flat in Dunedin has been a big change in my life compared to Wellington. The constant company I had in Wellington with my family is not the same as with my flatmates, since we do not yet have the confidence to talk and create a friendship, since all of us are quite shy!

We're absolutely delighted to hear about Gioryanni's progress - great job, Gioryanni, and we miss you. We're so excited to watch you continue to follow your dreams ❤️