Ronan believes disabled learners can do anything they put their minds to

Ronan McConney lives with cerebral palsy, but this has not stopped him from achieving his dream to become a paramedic. With NZMA, Ronan has recently gained his Level 4 Health Studies qualification and is now enrolled at AUT – studying towards a Bachelor of Health Science, majoring in Paramedicine.

Ronan believes disabled learners can do anything they put their minds to, but this must be supported by tertiary institutions that understand what disabled learners need to succeed.

“Studying through COVID-19 was difficult. Like many people with disabilities, I prefer face-to-face learning. This suits my needs and my learning style, but the pandemic has prevented me being in class for long periods.”

“Disabled student needs are not always met through distance learning. It’s harder for our voices to be heard, and for our tutors to identify when we are struggling. We can’t always work at the same speed as students who don’t have a disability.”

“Thankfully, during my time at NZMA, most of my tutors were very accommodating to my slower than normal work pace. This individualised attention combined with my own drive was what helped me become a tertiary success story.”

“I can’t wait to work in the health sector, not only because that’s my dream career, but also to challenge some of the stereotypes that exist for people with disabilities. We can bring many strengths to a job – such as empathy, patience and first-hand experience in overcoming obstacles every day.”

“But what people with disabilities need most is an education system that prepares us for the workforce and helps us to achieve our dreams and goals – and to do that we need adequate and individualised support.”

More news

Nepalese Ambassador stops by NZMA Sylvia Park

Last week we had the pleasure of the Nepalese Ambassador of Australasia visiting us at NZMA Sylvia Park campus.  We had a special afternoon tea where the Ambassador Lucky Sherpa and her husband Ngwang Sonam Sherpa met with our Nepalese students to learn about the skills they were learning, and the careers they hoped to…

Read more >

Our graduates: Meet Chunxu Chen from China

After studying at an ACG Pathways course, Chunxu Chen went on to become a qualified nurse who hopes to specialise in gerontology.   What made you decide to do a foundation course?   As a high school student in China, I learned that to enter universities in NZ I would have to complete a foundation…

Read more >

Student profile: Sena Shimotsuma

When Sena Shimotsuma first arrived in New Zealand from his native Japan, he couldn’t speak any English. Now he has more than 8,000 subscribers to his bilingual YouTube channel “SenaDropsAnIceCream” with videos viewed by up to 800,000 people. Sena came to New Zealand to study at a state secondary school in central Auckland. At first,…

Read more >