Inspiration Story by Sonja Mou Hoa
Growing up as a kid in Lae, Morobe Province, I never at one time thought of becoming a Lawer. Instead, I dreamed of becoming a Journalist after my late maternal uncle (Jack Metta) who was one of the pioneer PNG Kumuls players and the long time Editor of the National Newpaper then. This however changed when I was enrolled at Milfordhaven Primary School (MPS). I somehow grew interest in computers and wanted to become a Computer Scientist. Unfortunately, I wasn't good in Mathematics.
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| Sonja Mou Hoa |
In 2004, I got selected to do my grades 9 and 10 at Bugandi Secondary School (BSS). I was still not good in Mathematics but managed to get 2nd place in Home Economics and 1st place in Commerce during our grade 10 graduation.
In 2006, I got selected to do my grades 11 and 12 at the same school. I still didn't improve on my Mathematics so eventually my teachers streamed me into grade 11.5 which is a Social Science line major in Economics and History.
My class patron from grades 11 to 12 was Mr. Nario who hails from Markham in the Morobe Province. He was also our Mathematics teacher. He was a very humble man, soft spoken and a very good Mathematics teacher. It was then that I started improving on my Mathematics and eventually came 3rd place in one semester. But Economics and Business Studies were my favorite subjects. Hence I decided to take up Economics at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) after grade 12.
On that day when we would submit our School Leaver Form (SLF) before our grade 12 examination, Mr. Nario sat down with me to go through my SLF. He noticed I put Economics at UPNG as my first choice. Comparing my grades to my preference of course, my grades were very high for that course. That's when he advised me to take up School of Law at UPNG which I did and during the grade 12 graduation, I was awarded 1st place in Business Studies and 2nd place in Economics.
In 2009, I was one of the five students from BSS who were selected to study Law at UPNG on the Academic Excellence Scolarship (AES). It was definitely hard work paid off for me, my family, all my teachers and especially Mr. Nario.
In Law School, that was when the real struggle began. For someone who wasn't passionate of becoming a lawyer, I happened to face a lot of challenges especially with my self-esteem and confidence. However, that didn't hinder my studies. I studied hard and did my best to pass every semester. Never at any one time I flunked any of my courses from Years 1 to 4. I successfully graduated with a Law Degree in 2013 then went to Legal Training Institute where I managed to secure the top award for the Judical Review course and got admitted to the bar at the National and Supreme Court of PNG in 2014.
Currently I'm employed with the Department of Lands & Physical Plannning since 2014 and I love my job.
We may make our plans but God has the last say (Proverbs 16:1)