When Janet Xuccoa was admitted to the Bar in an online ceremony on Friday 29th October 2021 in the midst of a Covid lockdown, it was not the High Court occasion and celebration she had envisaged. After an education journey of almost 30 years studying part time for two degrees whilst working full time and writing 3 bestselling books, she had planned to throw a party! However, this was just another obstacle that by now, Janet was well versed in overcoming.
Janet is a successful businesswoman, author, public speaker and Trusts Specialist who has a passion for sharing her knowledge, based on the principle of ‘paying it forward’. This comes from a place of knowing what it feels like to be given a helping hand when all other doors have closed which is why she has decided to leave a generous gift in her Will to The Kate Edger Educational Charitable Trust (KEECT). At face value, she has it all, but what is most interesting is the lengths she went to achieve her goals, the sacrifices she made, and the obstacles she overcame on the way.
Janet was born in England to a British mother and an Arabian father. The family moved to New Zealand when she was 19. She had a difficult family upbringing, particularly with her dominant father who placed no value on education, especially for women, so as soon as she finished school, she left her home and began her quest to gain further education.
She began working as a receptionist while attending night school studying basic accounting. She then took a job in a law firm as a legal secretary and studied for a Legal Executive qualification. Janet soon began working as a Legal Executive, quickly proving her sharp intellect and astute work ethic. This is when she commenced studying part time for a BCom degree, attending one lecture a day around her full time work schedule.
Janet lived paycheck to paycheck on a tight budget for many years, supporting herself and paying for her university fees. Unexpected expenses required thinking outside the square. She tells of the time she and a friend set up a car washing station on a busy street corner with buckets of soapy water to earn the immediate cash she needed to fix her broken down car and pay her university fees.
She also remembers the tea lady who would quietly give her the leftover sandwiches after in-house lunches citing they would just go to waste otherwise, but knowing that Janet had little money for food. These small acts of kindness made a huge difference when she needed it most and are what fuels her desire to do the same for others now.
When Janet learned about The KEECT and the financial support it offers students, she wondered how differently her path would have played out if she had had access to something similar when she was putting herself through university. It would have at the very minimum alleviated the financial strain she was constantly under, and may well have afforded her the option to study full time and complete her qualifications sooner. But it would have also validated and encouraged her decision to study.
After a series of jobs that got bigger each time enabling her financial situation to steadily improve, she was headhunted to work for the senior legal counsel and corporate secretary of a large banking institution. It was while working there that she decided she wanted to go to Law School. She applied but missed out on the first round by 0.004% of the required GPA. She was accepted a year later and quickly mastered the art of balancing the papers to ensure a more manageable workload (while still working full time). Overall, Janet found the learning relatively easy as she had so much practical industry knowledge from working far above her Legal Secretary pay grade for many years already.
Several years later Janet graduated with her Law degree. By now she had been working with a prominent accounting firm for 3 years where she had been made a partner in the first 9 months. During her 16 years there, she ‘shook the tiger by the tail’ and became an expert on Trusts, alongside publishing 3 books; Family Trust 101, Money Secrets 101, and Women & Money: Mastering the Struggle.
During this time, Janet also traveled the country extensively educating businesses and individuals on setting up and managing trusts. She remembers one year where she took 82 flights and gave 109 presentations – all water off a duck’s back for this dynamic woman who only needs 5 hours sleep and in her own words, ‘gets bored easily’. She is currently the In-House Legal Counsel and Trust Advisor at Greenlion Limited, and in her ‘spare time’ she is working on the premise for her 4th book.
Janet has spent a total of 24 years studying part-time alongside a demanding career, graduating from the University of Auckland with a BCom in 2001 and her LLB in 2008, culminating with her admission to the Bar in 2021. She knows that it was this education alongside sheer grit, determination and hard work that has paved the way to her success and financial stability.
She is a firm believer in education as a tool for building a more ‘ably equipped, stronger person’ and her books optimise this belief that education drives better outcomes for people and society as a whole. This is why she hopes her bequest as a ‘gift into the future’ will help The KEECT to support students to have equal access to education despite their circumstances. Janet cares deeply about people and as such, being remembered for her ‘kindness in words, deeds and actions’ is more important to her than her many successes and achievements.
We are delighted that Janet has chosen The KEECT to leave a lasting legacy of her passion for people and education, and thank her for her generosity and kindness.
Gifts in a Will (a bequest), whether big or small, are a very special way to assist a charity into the future, at no cost to you now. If you would like to find out more about leaving a Gift in your Will, please contact Nina Tomaszyk, General Manager, for a confidential discussion.
Nina.tomaszyk@kateedgertrust.org.nz
021 376 411
Carol
Academic Dress Hire is renowned as New Zealand’s premier regalia hire and sale business, and the preferred and official supplier to schools and universities in the Auckland and Northland region. 
When Lina applied to receive this award, it was her compassion and determination that made her a stand-out candidate. Lina is a busy mother to 4 young children (including twins) and is being supported by her husband to complete her degree, which means long hours of work for her husband and many sacrifices for the family along the way. One of the biggest financial impacts of receiving the award was being able to afford to buy a laptop for her studies – for almost 2 years, she had completed (and passed) all her assignments on her phone.
In her own words, Lina vowed that “I would try to the best of my capabilities to become a midwife, no matter how long it took, because I did not want another woman to feel just like I had felt. Women need support and encouragement in the scary, yet magical time that is pregnancy, not judgement……this is was something I would carry with me all the way through my goal of trying to obtain my degree, something that would drive my determination.”
Lina plans to work predominantly in Pacific Island communities solely due to the fact that “we as Pacific Islanders are the most vulnerable for many complications in pregnancy, labour and birth, as well as the post-partum stages. I feel that I am able to educate, connect and form a better partnership with Pacifika women as I am able to relate to their way of thinking both culturally and professionally”.
Kate Milligan Evans (née Edger, 6 January 1857 – 6 May 1935) 
When she later applied for permission to sit for a university scholarship, she applied as K.Edger, omitting her gender, and based on her excellent grades, the application was successful. To study as the only woman in a class of young men must have required courage and perseverance; although she said in later years that her classmates treated her with courtesy, she was required to enter the class ‘with downcast eyes.’
Edger’s first teaching position was at Christchurch Girls’ High School. She then became the founding principal of Nelson College for Girls in 1883 aged only 26 years. In addition to being the ‘Lady Principal’, she taught English grammar, composition and literature, physical science, Latin, mathematics, singing and geography. She had a reputation for being a committed and compassionate teacher, who was as concerned about building the character of her students as she was about their academic achievements.
The WCTU became a major part of Kate’s life and she served as an assistant Corresponding Secretary, White Ribbon Associate Editor, Recording Secretary, National Superintendent of Scientific Temperance Teaching, and National Superintendent for Peace and Arbitration. She was also a founding member of Wellington’s Society for the Protection of Women and Children, a Dominion Secretary of the League of Nations Union of New Zealand, and a member of the National Council of Women.
Her legacy lies in the example she set for several generations of young women; that their minds were important to making a difference to the world and that female participation in public life was critical to a civilized society. Her name lives on through two important educational institutions; the Kate Edger Information Commons at the University of Auckland, and through this Trust.
Emeritus Professor Dame Charmian O’Connor
Ru Wilkie 
Dr. Jane Horan 
Ngaire Miller was a passionate nurse, midwife, academic and nursing pioneer. During her career, she was instrumental in transforming nursing education and practice. In particular, was her work around supporting the move of ‘on the job’ hospital based nursing training to a tertiary based education model. This was a key milestone in the development of nursing as a profession and there are now 17 Nursing Schools in New Zealand where studies comprise of 50% theory and 50% practical experience (hospital placements).
Ngaire was determined in her approach to life. She remained active and interested in nursing till her death at 84.
Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tatou katoa
We firmly believe in the wider Power of Education. Although gaining a job is an important outcome, an education provides much more as well. You will have your horizons broadened and be exposed to new ideas and new ways of thinking that may change your life forever; many of you will meet new people and make life-long friends. Your education may change the life path that you were on, or it may confirm the path you have always wanted to follow. In the world today, it is more important than ever that we are equipped with the knowledge we need to make well-informed, well-reasoned decisions about the things that are important in our lives. Your education, no matter what you are studying, will help you to do this.
I would also like to acknowledge Bessie Te Wenerau Grace, affiliated with Ngāti Tūwharetoa who was the first Māori woman to graduate from university, in 1926. This was 49 years after Kate Edger had paved the way. Interesting that Kate Edger was the first principal at Nelson College for Girls, which was the school that Bessie attended a few years later.
After a long association with the Trust, Emeritus Professor Dame Charmian O’Connor has announced her retirement. She was the driving force behind the setting up of The KEECT in 2005, she served as the Chair of the Trust then as a Trustee and Chair of the KEECT Awards Committee until the present day. Charmian’s incredible foresight, her hard work and wisdom has now resulted in over 1,200 awardees and the Trust is now known as one of the major educational funders in the Auckland Region.