HUA BREAKING BOUNDARIES
“When you find your purpose in a team, you won’t let others diminish your value”
The only female in a technical, male led team, Geographical Information System (GIS) Officer at TotalEnergies, Hua Morea, is completely in her element.
“I never feel challenged or like I have to compete with the guys. There is so much respect, understanding and support within the team and everyone has different strengths and we all work together to build that up,” she says.
“That’s what contributes to my growth, both professionally and personally. From the beginning of my time here, I would say that I wasn’t as professionally equipped, but the team has helped me sharpen the edges, they have helped me improve/grow so much,” she adds.
The 29-year old native of Hanuabada, is the first of four siblings in a family of six. She began her early childhood learning in her village, then went on to the Institute of Christian Academy, before graduating from Marianville Secondary School in 2015.
“I was at Marianville and then the following year I moved to Lae to pursue my degree in GIS. It was a completely new experience for me, I’m a family girl, so it was my first time to really be exposed to a new environment and different way of life,” she reveals.
“All my decisions up until that point, were or had been essentially centred around that (my family) so when I was away, I had to learn to take care of myself for the first time,” she added.
She attests that, even though she had not seriously thought about what she wanted to be, she knew that she had a passion for geography after finishing from high school and saw that as her deciding factor when she was choosing a path for university.
“I would say that my education, from high school all the way to completing my bachelors, I did that for my family and I think I did well. Right after me, my cousin sister followed and that made me proud,” she said.
“I’d like to feel that what I did was more than just attain a degree, I was out there breaking barriers, building a pathway for the next generation of my family to be inspired to go to school, all the way to tertiary and maybe beyond,” she added.
After she graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) from the PNG University of Technology (UniTech), she had been hit with the stark reality of finding a job during the pandemic.
“Covid-19 was also happening, making it really hard to find work, but around the same time, there was a need for greater awareness on Covid, so I was paid to volunteer and raise awareness in the Motukoita villages,” she shares.
“We would go set up in the heart of the villages, in the public spaces and people would be invited to come and listen. It was a new experience and it was nice because it was in our language so I feel like the message was well communicated,” she added.
