With her job inside the biosecurity office, she will be one of only three veterinarians who are certified to service the nation's population of over 8 million.

"Right now, there are only two vets who work nationally in the whole country," Ms Areori said.

"They are on the front line with what they are doing."

Much of Papua New Guinea's population rely on animal-focused industries.

Having grown up around animals, Ms Areori always knew working with them would be in her future.

But with so few vets around her, the inspiration for her future occupation was hard to come by.

"As a little kid I knew it's what I wanted to do," Ms Areori said.

"My mum and dad are both nurses, so they're in healthcare and I wanted to work in healthcare and with animals but I didn't have anyone to advise me on how to do it."

Fortune favoured Ms Areori in 2013, when Dr Andrew Peters, a Wagga-based lecture from Charles Sturt University, made a journey to her town in Papua New Guinea.

"I was working as a biologist and he came to talk about his research [in animal biosecurity]. I knew I wanted to do that," Ms Areori said.

Soon after, Ms Areori arrived in Wagga to conduct her PhD with Dr Peters at the regional university. She has remained in the city for nearly six years.

Should the COVID-19 travel restrictions allow it, she will head home in August, ahead of her December graduation.

As part of her return, she will join the CSU-led animal health initiative in PNG, aimed at staving possible virus spreads from animals to humans.

Being the only woman to achieve this goal in the whole nation comes with significant stress. Ms Areori admits there is "a bit of pressure" on her to hold this position.

"As a new grad, you want to have someone there with you who is more experienced to help you," she said.

"It's scary going back and not having as many mentors to work with as I do here. But I've built good contacts here [in Wagga] that I can call on when I need to."