In her last semester of uni, Paris Fabriziani had already landed her dream job, combining two majors to gain the career skills she needed for the role.
Only a few months away from graduating, Paris attributes the work placements she did and the practical experience she gained during her degree, to landing the role.
Paris initially started her journey at UWA in the Bachelor of Commerce however, after exploring her interests she eventually changed to a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Indigenous Studies as her first major and Human Resources Management as her second major without losing time on her degree.
"From doing vacation programs and workplace integrated learning through UWA, I really found my passion and decided to swap."
Coming from an Indigenous background with ties to the Pilbara region, Paris was able to learn a lot about her culture through the School of Indigenous Studies.
“Being able to enrol in units that are relevant to you, but also help you find yourself. It's pretty cool, like I wish some of those units were mandatory.”
Paris did two vacation programs at Rio Tinto in her first two years at uni – one in Learning Development and one in Human Resource Management.
"Through those [programs] I was fortunate enough to then be able to work throughout the whole year. I got to try a bunch of things in recruitment, development and also Aboriginal employment. That’s where I found my niche."
After finding an area that she really enjoyed, Paris went on to do a vacation program at Chevron, taking up an opportunity in Aboriginal engagement. She worked on a project collaborating with WA universities to encourage applications from other students just like her, for work placement programs.
"It was a really rewarding thing for me and we ended up increasing applications. So, it was really nice to see some positive impact from the work that I did."
In her final year at UWA, Paris did a workplace integrated learning unit with Water Corporation in business engagement. From there, she landed a full-time position with Water Corporation as Officer – Aboriginal Affairs.
The rewarding position in Human Resources allows Paris to give back to the community. Passionately working toward her end career goal as a mentor, Paris wants to help other Indigenous students ‘find their feet’ through practical learning opportunities.
"It’s something I’m super passionate about. If it wasn’t for those opportunities that I’d got, there’s no way I’d be where I am. So, I feel like there’s an obligation for me to now be able to share that with other people."
“I want students to be able to have someone to chat to about projects and programs and find something that suits them but also try new things. If I didn’t try different things, I wouldn’t even know that I love this Aboriginal engagement space.”
Both Paris’ majors have led her to her dream career and the skills she’s gained from each have “married perfectly” and ultimately landed her the job at Water Corporation.
