Bundaberg students Olivia Halpin and Ben White graduated with a Bachelor of Digital Media from CQU in 2021 where they cemented a long-lasting friendship, and now they are both moving forward with their careers.
Olivia comes from a tight-knit family that has been an unwavering pillar of support for her for as long as she can remember.
She said being able to study and secure employment in her hometown was a dream come true.
“As a very family-oriented person, I feel lucky to have gained full-time employment in my hometown,” Olivia expressed.
“I am working as a Creative Marketing Assistant for Aletek.
“My lecturer Regina John Luan notified me about the position after Aletek reached out to the university.
“I manage the company’s LinkedIn profile and I assist with general marketing tasks such as creating promotional material and parts catalogs for different mine sites, as well as video editing.”
While Olivia is thrilled to be kickstarting her career in her hometown, Ben had other plans and he was determined to make it happen.
“After graduation, I was planning to move to Brisbane, but I wanted to find a job first. Thankfully everything lined up and I moved in early January,” Ben explained.
“I work for a company that sells 4×4, boating, camping, caravan and electrical gear called Outback Equipment.
“I am a Junior Content Creator, and my role involves producing content primarily for our YouTube Channel, but also for our other social media platforms and website.
“In February, we went to Barrington Tops in New South Wales for five days to record content.
“It was a really great experience. So, it is safe to say that I am very much enjoying my job.”
Olivia and Ben said the skills they learnt during their studies set them up for success and they were grateful for the support they received from the lecturers.
“During my first year of study, I had some family medical issues that impacted my life, but the lecturers at university were very understanding and aided me as much as possible,” Olivia said.
“I am very appreciative of their support and the support of my friends as it allowed me to continue to study.”
Ben said the course was the perfect balance of challenging and fun.
“I really enjoyed the animation subjects. We had to create make a short, one-minute animation for an opening to a TV show,” he said.
“I created what was probably my favourite piece of media that I made for the entire course.
“It was an animation called ‘Abeyance’. It took me so long to make and it looked so good in the end. I was so proud of it and I have yet to top it.
“Plus, it won me a free year of the adobe subscriptions so that was pretty nice.”
As Olivia and Ben remain good friends, their career aspirations are set to take them on different paths.
Olivia aspires to one day work for herself as a graphic designer and Ben is focusing on fine-tuning his skills to produce quality content to increase Outback Equipment’s social media presence, and maybe one day break into the film industry.
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