The University of the South Pacific (USP) Cook Islands opened its doors to 100 final year students of Tereora College during an open day yesterday to highlight various academic opportunities available at the local campus.

Campus director Dr Debi Futter-Puati said most people had no idea about the range of education on offer and that the university is ranked in the top 10 per cent of universities in the world.

Futter-Puati also highlighted that instead of leaving their families to study abroad, students can obtain the same degrees in Rarotonga, ranging from Bachelor of Education and many others.

“This is our first open day for 2024, we’ll have another open day later in the year as well. We’re just opening the university to the community and Tereora College students so that they understand the breadth of degrees that USP offers,” she said.

“This morning (yesterday), we have had a hundred students from Tereora here with us and a few community members as well.”

Apii Avarua teacher Rangi Mariri, who will graduate next year after completing her Bachelor of Education studies at USP Cook Islands, talked to the students about her experience being a student and the challenges she encountered and conquered.

There was also a panel featuring students who had completed degrees in commerce, economic statistics, law, and Pacific policing, as well as a student currently pursuing a Bachelor of Information Systems.

The panel was made up of students from various islands, aiming to demonstrate to the college students that a USP education is accessible to everyone, regardless of their home island.

“Some of the students who talked (yesterday) morning were elite sports people, mothers, our law graduate who has six children, and it’s trying to give them the understanding that you don’t have to leave the Cook Islands to study,” Futter-Puati added.

Seventeen-year-old Jana Moemai from Tereora College said she found inspiration from the open day specially the presentations by the former and current USP students.

“We came here last year and I really liked the people that were presenting today, it was really inspiring, it was good sharing about their experience even though there was a lot on their plate, there was a lot of pressure, they just pursued what their goal was,” she said.

Asked about her goal in life and whether she would consider pursuing tertiary studies at USP, Moemai said she would love to, although she is unsure about her future career path.

“I’m not sure what I want to become but I really want a degree in Commerce because business is my area,” she said.

USP offers courses in finance, economics, accounting, marine science, the arts, history, Cook Islands Māori language, education, geography, Pacific studies, law, climate change, social work, counselling, politics, development, fisheries and more.

USP is the only international university on the island serving as a tertiary education alongside the Cook Islands Tertiary and Training Institute (CITTI).