Two friends who had the same goal to graduate were over the moon to tick that box off their bucket list. Lotofaatasi Maligi Lafaialii and Pili Junior Fata graduated with a Bachelor of Arts on Friday. 

Lotofaatasi is from the villages of Falealupo and Falelima, Savaii while Pili is from Fagalii. The two met at the University and have become the best of friends. Lotofaatasi and Pili told of the challenging journey they both had to endure for the last few years at NUS. 

"What a challenging journey, there were times when I would give up, and try to find help but grateful for the gift of family and friends who have been supporting my academic journey throughout. To be honest, there were a lot of times when I would fall into temptation like missing class and spending time at the pool game house," he said.

"One of the challenges was our financial situation which was another reason why I almost made up my mind that I should just drop out of school and find a job to help my family. Budgeting my allowance is one thing, sometimes when I have a class early in the morning and then the other one late in the evening, I would hang around in school to wait for that class as transportation was an issue. 

"I cannot go home and come back again in the evening. And after evening classes, if I can't catch a ride with my friends I would just taxi home. Budgeting money was a hassle as the cost of living is expensive now."

"It was quite a tough journey especially when it comes to finances. But grateful to the Ministry of Education and Culture for providing me with a scholarship for three years. Assessment-wise were very difficult and time management as well," said Pili.

The pair believes that every student has gone through the toughness of assessments but keeping in mind who they were doing it for will definitely keep them going until they reach the finish line. 

"But in terms of education, I think all students have gone through the challenges of assessments. But my motivation was my late parents (grandparents), Silialaei Maligi and Tineiafu, they always reminded me that education should be my priority. Now that I have tasted success it is sweet," added Lotofaatasi. 

"We have achieved one of our goals which is to graduate together so now it is time to get jobs and repay our debts to our parents. We usually tease each other that we were just here to goof around but no, we were here to learn and finish on a high"