At school Yolunda was tagged as an impressive student who stood
out for her academic excellence, a conscientious work ethic and a
friendly manner. In her Yr 9 she got the Top Aggregate exam mark
for the year, and in Yr 11 she won the Rotary Club Distinction
Award for Character and Service. Throughout high school Yolunda's
passion and talent for Visual Arts stood out.
During her First Foundation Scholarship with Vitatco Health,
Yolunda developed a strong relationship with her Mentor Sheree
Nicholas. Sheree saw potential in Yolunda and as she journeyed
watched her young Mentee grow immensely in self confidence. Sarah
Kennedy, Managing Director at Healtheries also saw outstanding
features in Yolunda. At the 2004 Scholarship Awards Ms Kennedy said
"Healtheries recognised that Yolunda is a young woman who is going
places; she has a willingness to teach and be taught." Yolunda
herself claims that through her work experience she has learnt a
number of valuable lessons in "being an adult in a big business
environment."
Since school Yolunda has aspired to hone her skills as an artist.
Consequently she studied for a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Whitecliffe
College. Graduating in 2009 with the award of Top Scholar, Yolunda
now lectures part-time at Whitecliffe. She has displayed recent
work in public exhibitions; Sculpture on the Shore (2010) and
Auckland Arts Festival (2011). In 2012 she commenced a Master
of Fine Arts at Elam, The University of Auckland.