Diane Bidois
Diane Bidois left high school with NCEA Level 1 and thought that tertiary education wasn’t for her. Fast forward nearly two decades later and Diane had embarked on a life-changing journey to gain a Level 5 Business Diploma at Toi Ohomai and build on her business success.
Although nervous about her first day back in studies, Diane took the plunge and immersed back into the world of learning and growth.
“I dropped out of College at year 12 and only came out with NCEA Level 1. So the studying part was very challenging for me. I'm now 34 years old and school work for me was 18 years ago. I was very fortunate to be able to stay home in my last year of study and finish off my four Accounting papers.”
Diane says that despite being apprehensive about returning to study, she was determined about what she wanted to achieve.
“To be successful in life you need to have goals and be specific about those goals, short term, long term; all these goals help you prosper to the person you want to be in the future.”
She says she hustled her way through classes, fuelled by her determination to learn. She didn’t give up when assessments were challenging, instead focusing on her reason for studying.
“My Tutors were very helpful, no one gave up on us and they all pushed us to pass even though some subjects were very challenging to comprehend. I learnt a lot and also knew that I was walking away with more knowledge for our business.”
Diane worked hard and achieved high grades throughout her studies and successfully finished her course.
Together with her husband, Diane has a successful logistics company that contracts directly to Mainfreight.
“With our business I love that we can work hard and reap the rewards of seeing our hard mahi. With me working part time, the job is physical and outdoors, so it's very challenging lol. Every day is a different day, hot, cold, raining, windy heaps of traffic, no traffic., Happy customers, grumpy customers, the role comes with all its challenges but what's life without challenges?”
Diane is already looking to the future.
“My goal is to, one day, have kids and to become parents. I also want to be a CEO for a big Logistics firm.”
Diane encourages aspiring students to embrace study.
“Study. Even if you study for a year, have a break for a year then come back. There's also the option of part time study which doesn't hit you with the stress as much as you think. To have a tohu behind you, you will be grateful and feel accomplished! Well, I do.”