Young mum rolls up sleeves to ace EIT business degree

Sheree Wereta is a 2020 EIT Bachelor of Business Studies graduate. Photo Supplied

Sheree Wereta (Ngāti Ruanui) knows that not every success story follows a straight line.

The 30-year-old EIT Bachelor of Business Studies graduate had to carve her way through some curve balls, but in the end it all panned out.

Originally from Whakatāne, she started to study Tourism Management and Marketing at Waikato University. "Honestly, at that time I had no clear idea of what I wanted to do. Although I finished some papers, I got too caught up in social life. Eventually I understood that it wasn't working for me."

She decided to move to Napier where her dad lived and worked at the Napier Prison Tours, later at the MTG and the Municipal Theatre.

In 2016, she and her partner welcomed her daughter, who will start school later this year.

While being a stay-at-home-mum, she came to a crossroad. "I had this feeling that I needed to do something more stimulating, to get a qualification, to do something with my life. I met with the programme co-ordinator for the business degree at EIT and the fact that I was able to credit nine of the Waikato Uni papers towards the degree, gave me a real boost. It just felt right from the get-go."

In the beginning, she studied part-time. Once her daughter turned 3, she switched to fulltime.

She said that it was a huge balancing act and time management was challenging.

"Assignments are usually due around the same time so I had to squeeze them all in at once. But the lecturers were willing to invest in me. I knew that for them I wasn't just a number and that they wanted me to succeed."

As part of her programme, Sheree did an internship within the Napier City Council marketing team. It was one of her highlights. "You can't beat an internship, if you are 100 per cent passionate about it and willing to fully apply yourself.

"If employers know you already they have more trust in taking you on."

She says that the importance of networking and building connections was something that was reaffirmed throughout her studies.

She doesn't regret the twists and turns in life. "Everything happens for a reason. And once I had changed my mind-set I worked really hard and pulled through."

At the moment, Wereta and her friends are fine-tuning a business plan. "To launch my own business is certainly the ultimate career goal."