Tomoaki Matsushita

For 31 year old Tomoaki Matsushita gaining a double diploma from NZMA was a huge achievement.

The softly spoken man from Shizuoka struggled through high school and found his subsequent attempts to improve his English daunting and difficult. But all that changed once he enrolled at NZMA to study hospitality he suddenly felt motivated and inspired to hit the books. For the first time in his life it was easy to get out of bed in the mornings and head off to the classroom.

"It's strange, I really felt motivated at NZMA," says Tomoaki, who graduated with his National Diploma in Hospitality Management and his National Diploma in Business in December.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever studied but I really wanted to do it. When I was a student in Japan I always had to take special classes to get my exam results up, but at NZMA I did fine and I really enjoyed it. It was the first time in my life I actually liked studying."

His renewed interest in school probably stemmed from the fact that Tomoaki is now following his dream. Since leaving school he has been drawn to the hospitality industry, working first in a hotel in Japan and then as a kitchen hand in Auckland. Six years ago he left Japan and headed Down Under. He studied IELTS for eight months to improve his English before joining NZMA in 2004. Early on in his diploma studies Tomoaki landed a part-time job as a Food & Beverage Attendant at the Stamford Plaza Auckland. He is now employed as a Waiter at the Viaduct's upmarket Kermadec Ocean Fresh Restaurant.

Eventually Tomoaki hopes to open his own coffee shop. He's been fantasizing about it for several years, and now that he has got these NZMA qualifications under his belt he's one step closer.

"When I was 26 I did a coffee making course here in Auckland. At that time I realized that's what I wanted to do the problem was I didn't know enough about the industry and I didn't know how to run a business!

"When I found out about this course at NZMA I was so happy because it's exactly what I was looking for. I really enjoyed the course. All the staff at NZMA are really helpful and I met lots of nice classmates. I learned so much. For example I don't drink, but we studied a lot about alcohol and laws relating to alcohol so it really widened my perspective."

Another advantage of NZMA is its ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Support classes. During the first ten weeks of the Diploma programme, international students are given ESOL Support classes, helping to consolidate what they are learning in their hospitality course.

"I found these classes very helpful. Anything I didn't understand in class I asked my ESOL tutor. She went over things very thoroughly so that we all understood everything. I'm very thankful for this."

Now that Tomoaki has graduated, he plans to work full-time for five to ten years in the hospitality industry before launching his business.

"That way I'll have plenty of time to practise, save money and improve my English!
Ideally I'd like to open my coffee shop here in New Zealand. I've wanted to live here since I was a child, when I used to see those nature programmes on TV. I always imagined New Zealand to be like that...and it is!"