Protecting people on the country’s rail corridor

As National Protection Manager for KiwiRail, Unitec graduate Ria Apiata runs the team responsible for access to New Zealand’s rail corridor. She says Unitec’s flexible, practical approach to learning helped set her on the path to success.

Ria’s path began after high school, where, as Head Girl, she was awarded a four-year scholarship to study at AUT. However, the timing wasn’t right and Ria ended up leaving to work - but she had a plan in mind. “I worked out that if I had three or four kids it would take me about 10 years, so why not come out with a qualification at the end of it? I enrolled at Unitec because it offered the flexibility to do night classes.”

Ria spent the next nine years completing a Bachelor of Business (Management) part-time, in between having four children, working and running her own business. “It was a busy time. But I loved going back as an older student – I wasn’t there to muck around! I was surrounded by other mature students, people who were already in business and had seasoned skills and experience.”

Ria says Unitec’s practical approach to learning also really resonated with her.

“I think that’s what Unitec does well: practical learning and real-life examples. We’d write business cases, or complete process improvement projects for companies and present solutions to them – things I’ve done regularly in my recent roles. My advice is to ask all the questions you can. Use those networks within Unitec – form good relationships with your peers and your lecturers, you never know where it will lead.”

Ria put everything into her degree and finished as Senior Scholar and top of her class. She also won an award sponsored by a freight, transport and logistics company, Toll New Zealand.

Read more inspirational stories at unitec.ac.nz/our-stories