Stacy-Lee Taurima – Nō Ngāti Rongomaiwahine
Stacy-Lee Taurima is a passionate entrepreneur with goals to establish a positive future for her and her whānau.
Stacy-Lee – Ngāti Rongomaiwahine - currently manages a GAS petrol station and studies the Home-Based Learning Level 2 Papa Whairawa – NZ Certificate in Personal Financial Capability programme part-time with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
She has a long history in management roles. She is now working towards owning a business to financially benefit her children and whānau.
It's Stacy-Lee's first time studying since she finished high school, and she said her studies have helped at home and in her mahi.
"It's taught me some stuff and helps heaps at home with normal everyday life," she says.
"Study itself is excellent, and I've definitely had some eye-opening moments when it comes to implementing some of the things I've learnt."
She says learning with Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is "like being back at school", but she enjoys the freedom to learn from home.
"The course itself is good. You get to study at your own pace in your own time, which is helpful to people with busy schedules," she says.
"Now that my children are a bit older and we have a routine, I can fit in some study and do something for me, which is pretty cool."
She is now intent on paving a pathway to transform her whānau through education. She says she decided to return to study to gain the skills to successfully run her own business.
The skills she has learned on the course have proved helpful in her mahi, and her mahi helps reinforce what she has learned.
"It goes both ways."
"The flexibility of the programme is helpful, so when life gets busy, I can do my studies at night or on my lunch break. I am not restricted to having to be somewhere at a certain time and date; that helps a lot, being able to do it in my own time. A class-based programme wouldn't suit my lifestyle."
Stacy-Lee's advice for anyone who may be thinking about starting their study journey is just to give it a go because it sounds and looks a lot harder than it actually is.
"Some people are afraid to study, but once you get into it, you realise how much support you have, even though you are studying remotely. Te Wānanga provides heaps of support around study, even if you're studying by yourself at home. Just give it a go. You won't know unless you try."
