Hopping on a bus and hearing a friendly ‘gidday’ are common occurrences for kiwis, but for a new migrant they can be confusing and, at times, stressful. That’s how Florence Oeung felt when she first arrived in New Zealand in 2018.

 

Florence left Cambodia with her family 2018, first settling in Auckland before making the move to Hamilton to embark on a business degree. She chose Hamilton for the quieter pace of life and promptly got involved with the Hamilton Multicultural Services (HMS) Trust.

Florence says “In those early days, everyday interactions and moving about my day felt so difficult.  Then there was figuring out how the hospital system worked, learning how to drive, not to mention full-time study in a language I was still learning.  Having support from people that ‘just got it’ was so important. Gradually it all got easier.”

 

The Settlement Centre Waikato has been an important source of assistance for Florence throughout her journey. From free IELTS English courses and road code workshops to an affordable driving program, the Centre has helped her progression from a learner's license right through to her full license, increasing her freedom exponentially.

 

The Settlement Centre Waikato continues to be a big part of Florence’s life and she was among the first recipients of the HMS Trust and University of Waikato Award which she describes as ‘lifechanging’. The Award – a joint fees scholarship - was launched in 2023 and provides up to $8,000 towards fees and tuition materials for four recipients from the migrant and former refugee (newcomer) community each year. Florence says the scholarship was a huge confidence boost and allowed her to devote the time she needed to her studies so she could reach the finish line. 

 

The finish line is not far away for Florence now who has chosen accounting as her major and is on track to complete her degree at the end of 2025.  She hopes to become a Chartered Accountant in a few years so her next challenge will be finding an accountancy firm who can help her acquire the graduate level experience she needs to achieve this goal.

For now, though, Florence is focused on her final year at university and is eager to get involved in the Sisterhood Programme, run by HMS Trust, out of the Settlement Centre Waikato, which connects ethnic women from around Hamilton. She hopes to one day use her accountancy skills in a setting which gives back to the community that has given so much to her.

 

HMS Trust has been supporting newcomers to settle in Hamilton since 1999. Recently awarded the Community Contribution Award at the Waikato Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, the Trust owns and operates the Settlement Centre Waikato, its operational base since 2004.

 

Executive Chair Claire van der Most says the Trust’s entire reason for being is to provide the tools and resources newcomers, like Florence, need to belong and thrive in their new home.  They know a university qualification can be a gamechanger, opening up a raft of career opportunities and changing the trajectory of their lives.

 

Claire says “We’re so pleased to see past scholarship recipients like Florence flourishing in their studies and setting their sights on careers that once may have felt out of reach. Florence is a very inspiring and relatable role model for other newcomers to Hamilton.”