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When Adrienne Ebron embarked on studies at Manukau campus, she kept to herself and didn’t socialise with peers. The reserved 19-year-old soon thrived, however, in the warm class atmosphere.
“I’d been pretty sheltered all my life being around the same people every day, like in Catholicism,” Adrienne says after completing the Business Administration and Computing NZ Certificate in Foundation Skills. “Coming into the class and having to surround myself with new people was something I had to get used to,” she says. “My tutor, Lesley, welcomed me and I felt safe. All my classmates had different cultures and religions so learning about those core aspects was really interesting.”
Adrienne says mixing with peers has enhanced interactions with customers in her casual role as a restaurant hall staff member. “It’s my first job after leaving school and I didn’t exactly have the best social skills,” the Flat Bush resident says. “Making those connections in class with people from different backgrounds and ages has helped me handle different types of customers and communicate better with them.
Adrienne is working towards a Bachelor of Commerce at Auckland University. But she decided to take a semester off earlier this year to study business administration at Future Skills Academy. “I had completed my first year at university, which was horrible with the Covid-19 crisis, learning online and transitioning back and forth,” she says. “It really took a toll on my confidence. I just needed to take care of myself and not push myself any further.”
Learning at the academy has not only boosted her confidence but also broadened her job options. Adrienne says fellow students inspired her to consider changing a lifelong goal to become an accountant and to realise a stronger fervour for science. Adrienne is now taking a Pharmacy paper with her sights set on a Bachelor of Pharmacy. “Some people in my class had degrees from their home countries,” she says. “They were working towards early childhood diplomas because later in life they found out what they were truly passionate about. That opened my eyes. “
Adrienne says while growing up, she suppressed other goals and interests in her single-minded determination to pursue accountancy. “I didn’t use to sleep because of study. I’ve been spending all my life putting all this pressure on myself to become an accountant. So my approach to this Bachelor of Pharmacy is not to have one set goal and to go with the flow.”
