From army barracks to Unitech

By LIBERT SANGUNDI
JESSE Gima, who overcame odds to get a degree, wants his achievement to be an encouragement for others in the military and the working class to follow.
“My achievement in education should encourage personnel from the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF), Correctional Service (CS) and police to pursue education studies to enhance their knowledge.
“It’s hard to be employed and study at the same time, but it’s about time management.
“If I can do it, then you can do the same as well, nothing is hard,” he said.
Jesse, 32, who grew up in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands, but is from a mixed Jiwaka and Morobe parentage, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication for Development at the University of Technology (UoT) in Lae on Friday.
Jesse completed his primary school in Tega, Mt Hagen, in 1996 and went to the Hagen Park Secondary School. He completed Grade Nine there and was then transferred to Jiwaka.
“Despite peer pressure challenges encountered in those days, I concentrated on my studies.
“I am thankful to my parents who encouraged me to give my best to my education. They always told me that life would be difficult without a proper education,” he said.
In Jiwaka, he attended Fatima Secondary School where he did Grade 10 and continued on to Grade 12 where he completed successfully in 2007.
He was then selected to study Communication of Arts at Divine Word University (DWU) in Madang in 2008.
“I am grateful for the opportunity given to me at DWU which has brought joy and satisfaction to me and my parents,” he said.
He began his first year in 2008 and continued to his third year when he came across a PNGDF recruitment advertisement.
‘’Halfway through my third year, I saw in the newspaper that PNGDF was doing recruitment of cadet officers and I immediately applied.
“Surprisingly, I received a called that I was accepted. They sent me a ticket to fly to Port Moresby to complete the recruitment process and join the training at Goldie River Training Depot.
“I have no second thought. I withdraw immediately from studies and flew to Port Moresby and joined the other recruits,” he said.
Jesse completed six months training at PNGDF Goldie River Training Depot and was posted to Igam Barracks in Lae, Morobe, in 2011.
“I spent a good number of years serving as a private in Bravo Company’s Engineering Battalion where I learnt a lot of things.
“I am someone that want to achieve my dreams and get what I want in life whether work-related or achieving personal goals,” he said.
In 2018 Jesse applied to UoT as a non-school-leaver and was accepted.
“I got accepted in 2019 to do first year and that brought me overwhelming satisfaction and drove me to get a degree which I always dreamt of.
“Despite my age and being out of school for eight years, I never give up on my dream to get a degree.
“Deep within me I knew one day I would get a degree from one of the recognised universities in the country which I did and it’s a dream come true for me,” he said.
Jesse thanked his parents for their endless financial support throughout his education journey and also his military colleagues for their moral support.
He described his education journey at UoT as tough and challenging because he had been out of school for eight years.
“In my first year, I really struggled to catch up and it’s like cleaning the cobwebs.
“I nearly failed my studies but made it through with low grade point average (GPA) and from there on, I improved a lot and continued to my final year and graduation,” he said.
Jesse’s encouragement to other working class people particularly those in the military to work on their dreams and never give up.
“There is more in life that you need to accomplish and you have the potential.
“Identify it and work towards achieving it even if it seems impossible.
“When you have the opportunity, make good use of it and never settle for less because there are better things out there which you never know until you arrive there,” he said.