WK Trainee Advisor Rebecca Faapopo.Just two weeks before landing a new role at WK Advisors and Accountants, trainee advisor Rebecca Faapopo arrived in New Zealand from her native Samoa.
It is her third time living in New Zealand, after previously attending high school in Auckland on a scholarship, and then Waikato University, after receiving a scholarship for her first year.
There, she studied a Bachelor of Business Analysis majoring in Accounting, before moving back to Apia where she worked as a junior accountant in an accounting firm.
Previously living with her grandparents, Rebecca moved to Marlborough to live with her parents and two younger siblings, who have been in the region for around 10 years.
She saw the opportunity to apply for the role of trainee accountant and accountant and is enjoying putting her theory into practice at work.
“I’m grateful that I got the opportunity to go straight into something we studied for; to me, getting straight into the career path that I was planning while I was young is very special,” Rebecca says.
Mathematics was a strength for Rebecca at school and accounting was a career she was interested from a young age. She was also strongly supported by her late grandmother, Fiaalii.
“She was and always will be my inspiration and motivation in everything I do and continue to do; not forgetting the help from everyone that has been supporting me from the very start until now,” Rebecca says.
Rebecca has spent the first three weeks learning from her colleagues and familiarising herself with Xero, a different software to what was used in her previous job in Samoa.
“I am still learning a lot … the theory I studied at university is all starting to make sense.”
Rebecca is looking forward to expanding her knowledge and helping clients to reach their business goals.