Gerard Ivalaoa

Digicel signs young Brand Ambassador

Digicel PNG's Senior Vice President and Chief Sales Officer, Lorna McPherson, signed-on Gerard Ivalaoa in a meeting this morning.

Earlier this year, Ivalaoa went viral on the social media platform, Facebook, for writing his first book, ‘70 reminders of Academic Excellence’ using his phone, gaining attention from the global telecommunication company that presented him with a phone and a laptop.

A new frontier

He said he drew inspiration from his own struggles and achieving academic excellence whilst living on ATS portion 695; a piece of land locked in a court battle for almost a decade.

Earlier this month, the court ruled in favour of a foreign owned company who began evicting residents and leveling the area for development.

Ivalaoa’s family and hundreds of others were forced to move out, with reports that some are now on the streets.

Everyday People PNG : Gerard Ivalaoa

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.