Growth by leaps and bounds for University of Melbourne graduate
“I still remember the feeling I had when I received my acceptance letter from the University of Melbourne,” reminisces Hassan Esufally, a recent graduate of the University’s Bachelor of Commerce degree. “I felt on top of the world!”
Hassan says the University of Melbourne was his dream destination and to have been accepted into his preferred course gave him a great sense of achievement.“All my hard work had indeed paid off,” Hassan says gleefully.“Before I came to Australia to study, I visited on a family vacation, partly to explore study options. I was awestruck at the culture, prestige and tradition when I visited the University of Melbourne. In that moment I had an inspired feeling of ‘this is where I want to be!’. The University’s holistic approach to education seemed promising, and I realised it had much to offer in education, sport and residential college life, and therefore made me even more determined to come here.”
He says a major academic draw card was the Melbourne Curriculum, which sees students take ‘breadth’ subjects outside their primary course to ensure they receive a well-rounded education.“I completed a double major in Management and Marketing,” Hassan says, “but I also tried commerce, accounting, economics and finance. On top of that I explored subjects in law, intercultural effectiveness, sports health and nutrition.”
Although Hassan says he was prepared for a major life change transitioning from secondary studies to university studies at Melbourne, he was stunned by the level of personal growth that took place over his student years.“Personally, I did not expect to change so much as an individual,” he says.“The academic advancement was a given, but what is unnerving is the leaps and bounds I made with my personal growth at university.”
A keen tennis player who ultimately made it to the rank of 11 in the Sri Lankan National Men’s Division, Hassan joined the tennis team at Melbourne and eventually became team captain of the university.“Being a part of the team that got to fight its way to the State Championship Grand Final was as enriching an experience as the final winning outcome,” he says. “Each member was supportive of the others, which encouraged the unit to develop a sense of mutual respect and work together.”
“I’ve also been moulded by my new experiences at university - going camping and hiking as part of a subject I did and skiing with the University of Melbourne Ski Club. That was unbelievable! Moreover I attempted learning a new language– Spanish – and I’m proud to say, que ha trabajado (I worked hard)!”
Hassan says he’s hoping to kick-start his business career in Melbourne, and gain some international experience prior to returning home.“My dream job is to be a successful entrepreneur and CEO of my own businesses,” he explains. “This is appealing to me for a number of reasons, one being the ability to think about all the areas of a firm as opposed to the expertise gained from being in charge of a single department. There is a famous quote by Tony Gaskins that I love:‘If you don’t build your dream someone will hire you to help build theirs’ Ultimately, I hope to get to the point where I can be a role model and help inspire other people to be the best they can be!” www.alumni.unimelb.edu.au www.fbe.unimelb.edu.au If you would like to find out more about the University of Melbourne and what is on offer, you can meet University of Melbourne staff and alumni at BMICH- Committee Room E, on Saturday February 7th 2015 from 6.00 pm- 7.30 p.m. For more information or to make an appointment please contact Edlocate on 0771-770361, 011-5235148