"There was an accounting bit in my current paper and I really enjoyed it. I never did it at school, I always thought it sounded boring, but it's fun," Lillington says.
"It just makes sense. I put everything in and go 'yeah, that works' and if something doesn't work, you can figure out why it didn't work. I like how straightforward it is."
Enthused by her newfound interest in accounting, Lillington applied for a scholarship, preparing for business accounting in semester two.
Soon enough, Cameron Town from Silks Audit Chartered Accountants was awarding her the scholarship, offered jointly by several local businesses.
Lillington is not sure what the scholarship will be worth, but whatever the figure, will put it towards paying her fees next semester.
"I was so pleased and excited to receive this scholarship," she says.
"The local accounting community want more people to succeed, which is a really nice feeling."
Lillington has a lot on her plate outside of the lecture theatre as well.
Her parents Graham and Jane Lillington run Jamie's Angels, a home-style meal delivery service that she is happy to help them with.
On busy days, Lillington will be cooking, washing dishes and dishing plates of personalised meals for a range of customers around Whanganui.
The business was started by her brother James Lillington, who sold it to his parents before moving away and is now driving tractors in Nelson.
Lillington was born in the UK and relishes the chance to do the volunteer work with her parents.
"My dad's job in the UK meant he was never home. He just didn't see us kids at all, he'd leave at six in the morning and get home at 10 at night," she says.
"We lived in Surrey. Dad worked in London as a desktop publisher and he had to commute. One day our parents just picked us up and we vanished."
The Lillingtons travelled for approximately six months, during which time they visited distant relatives in Whanganui. They liked it so much that they stayed.
Lillington attended St George's School and later her parents started selling crepes at the Whanganui River Market, where Lillington now works at Havoc Coffee.
As if that was not enough, Lillington also has an afternoon job working in reception at Armstrong Barton Lawyers.
Lillington credits UCOL for allowing her to fit all of her tasks in.
"We've got small classes at UCOL, all the teachers are very invested in each pupil doing well and they know everyone has another life," she says.
"They want everyone to do well. There were so many people at uni, I found they just fell through the cracks really easily and no one actually paid any attention."
Lillington finally feels she is following the right path. She has plans to finish this year of study before taking on full time work and finishing her studies part-time.
Despite having a diary full of volunteering, working and studying requirements, Lillington still finds time to relax and considers her move back to Whanganui a good one.
"It's really nice actually because I reconnected with a whole bunch of people I haven't seen since high school," Lillington says.
"There's a good group of young professionals in Whanganui and we do the Stellar quiz night. We never do well, but we enjoy it and come a solid second-to-last every week."
