Graduand celebrates success along way
FOR Carissa Reck the USQ graduation ceremony at the Empire Theatre on Friday will mean many things.
It will signify her completion of a Masters of Business Administration and also a chance to thank her family, friends and USQ staff who guided and supported her throughout the post-graduate degree.
And most of all it will be a chance to celebrate.
It was celebrating the small achievements along the way that helped Mrs Reck reach the significant milestone.
“It means so much,” she said.
“It is a self-validation and recognition of my efforts and what has been achieved.”
Mrs Reck will be one of about 600 students to attend a USQ graduation ceremony at the Empire Theatre.
She had two goals when
❝really It was rewarding but also challenging.
first undertaking university studies: to complete her MBA before she was 30, and to finish with a GPA of six.
The 28-year old from Placid Hills achieved both these goals while working full time.
The USQ graduand is testament that there are many pathways to a university education.
On finishing high school she decided to enter the workforce, knowing that one day she would go to university, but didn’t know what it would look like or when.
“I did a number of jobs, and progressed into a business analyst role. From there, I was able to use work experience to start my studies through the entry-path of a Postgraduate Certificate in Business at USQ,” she said.
“It was really rewarding but also challenging.
“Not holding an undergraduate degree or prior university experience I had to learn very quickly how to write academically and correctly reference.
“Also, during my studies I was involved in some major, critical projects at work. Balancing that along with study and home life could be a challenge, but I was lucky to have the support of USQ, my family and employer.”
Ms Reck completed her MBA at USQ, which is rated
in the top five MBA programs in the country, according to the 2015 Australian Financial Review BOSS rankings.
“The MBA program was great, a good combination of value, a well-recognised qualification, contained all expected theoretical content and also has real world application examples and assessments,” she said.
Graduates and their
guests will celebrate the successful completion of their university program at the graduation ceremony for Education, Engineering and Built Environment, Health and Community, and Sciences at 10am followed by Business and Commerce, Creative Arts and Media, Humanities and Communication, Information Technology, and Law and Justice at 2pm.