Hello, my name is Gerard Ivalaoa, I come from a mixed parentage of Central Gulf and Morobe and I am the first born of 3 children.
I applied for the 2020 academic year at UPNG with a 4.0 GPA, however my application was rejected. I also applied again for this year 2021, but my application was also rejected. I accepted that I was rejected and stayed at home, but I have not given up pursuing my dream of becoming a lawyer in the future.
During my school days I was a student leader, in primary school, and when I went to De La Salle Secondary in Bomana to do grades 9 and 10.
Life at home was challenging and very difficult, but this did not stop me from excelling academically.
I was the dux student in New Erima Primary in 2014 and the grade 10 dux for De La Salle in 2016.
My belief is that leadership is not a distraction to education, and I moved onto to Port Moresby National High School to do my grades 11 and 12.
I was told by many of my peers that I would spoil my education because of taking leadership roles.
They said “you’re giving too much time to leadership”, but being a leader was what I was passionate about.
So when I went to PomNaths, I tried to shrink myself to not be a leader, but my character showed to the students and they voted me as the 2018 SRC President and also as Adventist Student President.
To me, being a leader is not a burden or a distraction, it is not another obstacle in life.
Being a leader created a way for me to see education in a different way.
This country needs young leaders, leaders who are not just there to be recognised but to give their best to serve God and country.
My book, 70 reminders of Academic Excellence is the first of others to come because I am currently writing and I hope to publish more books.
As someone who wrote a book using a phone, my message to young people, is that the use of a mobile phone is far greater than watching a movie or listening to music.
If we can utilize a mobile phone in the right way, we can create employment and wealth, and change our lives.
We have the world at our fingertips and all we have to do is to use it in the right way.