Accounting

In my two years at UWA I have not only thoroughly enjoyed my course but have gotten really involved in many of the student-run clubs and societies on campus. It has allowed me to network and make friends, as well as continue with and discover new hobbies and passions. My course and involvement in campus culture has opened many doors and left me confident to enter the workforce. I chose to study Accounting and Marketing because I knew both would provide me with a fantastic overall understanding of how businesses operate and the world of commerce. I really enjoy being able to use creativity and research in my Marketing major while developing more analytical and number-based skills in Accounting.

I chose to study at UWA because it is the most acclaimed university in Western Australia. The lecturers endeavour to provide students with an engaging learning experience and I benefit greatly from their efforts. UWA allowed me to choose an internship at firms I have always admired. Going to university, I wasn’t sure what course I wanted to study. I chose commerce because I felt it would provide me with an essential life skill. I quickly realised that finance and accounting were areas that interested me the most.

My degree

I knew I wanted to study business, but I wasn’t sure which area I wanted to specialise in. I chose Accounting initially because I was good with numbers and I wanted to learn more about the inner workings of businesses. I continued to study accounting because of the valuable business and strategy knowledge I learnt through the course; which was all applicable to the world around me and the workforce I’m entering into.

The business school is a great place to study, and I have had third-year lecturers who are incredibly passionate about what they teach; which makes the learning experience really enjoyable. I also enjoy being able to apply the course content, particularly around strategy, directly to real-world examples.

I went through the CA Achiever Program in 2018 which resulted in an offer for a 2-week Audit and BAS internship with HLB Mann Judd. I have also interned at UWA Campus Management through the McCusker Centre and developed a sustainability engagement program for staff, and I still currently work there now as a sustainability intern. I also interned at a social enterprise in India for 3 weeks over this winter break.

Why UWA?

I’m the first in my family to go to university, so I was initially overwhelmed by the process of choosing where to study. I went to the UWA Open-Day in 2016 and was mesmerised by the beautiful campus, the people I met, and what it was offering; and I decided that day to apply. UWA has world-class courses (especially business), students, and opportunities and I feel incredibly fortunate to study here.

Campus experience

My favourite aspect is definitely the people I’ve met throughout my 3 years of studying. UWA provides so many opportunities for students to meet other like-minded students through events, clubs, societies, and groups. Building strong relationships with other students is something that’s been invaluable to my university experience, and UWA fosters a strong community culture which makes it easy to meet new friends. I also try to make the most of the opportunities that UWA provides to prepare students for life outside of uni; including internships, volunteering opportunities, work-place learning units, and networking events.

I’m the Marketing Director for 180 Degrees Consulting WA. Before this, I was a consultant for the club. I’m also on the McCusker Centre Student Advisory Committee.

In 2018, I was the recipient of the Perth Energy Scholarship, for academic excellence in Business at UWA. I was also the recipient of the St. Catherine’s Academic Excellence Award in 2017 for having the highest first-year WAM.

What's next?

I’d like to apply my business knowledge to the social impact space. After completing two internships through the McCusker Centre for Citizenship, I discovered my passion lies in helping others and giving back to the community. I believe it’s important to support enterprises that focus on purpose as much as they do profit. Business can be a powerful vehicle for positive change, and I want to use my skills to encourage this after I graduate.

Not letting hearing loss get in the way of learning

Jessica was born into an Indonesian family with severe hearing-loss and began wearing hearing aids when she was eight years old.

She is currently in her last semester majoring in Accounting and Business Law. Jessica initially took up biochemistry in her first year, but soon decided to go with Commerce and combine Accounting and Business Law to gain technical skills, interact and collaborate with more people and get a better understanding about the world of business.

Lived experience with a disability

I had undiagnosed hearing loss until I was in Year One. I later found out that this had delayed my communication development and made me a very introverted and shy person who takes a while to warm up to people. From a young age, I have been highly reliant on lip-reading. Being shy as a consequence of hearing loss, in conjunction with heavy reliance on lip-reading, makes it difficult for me to fully engage in daily conversations.

One of the things most hearing people don’t realise is that hearing aids only amplify sound volume but they do not enhance clarity. This can be particularly difficult when lip-reading becomes ineffective – such as when facial hair covers mouths or people mumble – and communication then becomes a tiresome challenge.

There are many instances where I have been driven to the point of exhaustion from trying to hear, lip-read and focus on even the most mundane activities all at the same time. Tutorial classes, lectures, social events with multiple conversations jumping back and forth, assessment centres and busy work environments have been common challenges I face every day.

For example, in tutorials, I am not only required to take notes and absorb information from my peers or tutors, but being hard of hearing also forces me to lip-read and fill out the missing bits of information that I do not hear from others based on the context alone and this ultimately distracts me from the usual process of learning.

In a nutshell, my hearing loss has often led to isolation because of feeling withdrawn from social situations where so much energy is required to keep up with a normal conversation and to successfully engage with people.

My UWA experience and WIL

I have been involved in Guild Volunteering and social tennis and find this is a great way to be part of the community and make new friends while challenging myself as a hard of hearing individual to step outside of my comfort zone. I am hoping to earn my blue belt in Jiu Jitsu, but at same time I vary my sporting activities between gym, tennis, swimming, cycling, running and rock-climbing in order to maintain an active lifestyle.

Outside of university, I work as a retail assistant at a farmer’s market and train at a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club. I am also involved in mentoring and internship programs provided by the Australian Network of Disability (AND). These programs have helped me grow significantly in confidence by networking with people from different businesses and through practice interviews with my mentors.

I am currently working at a public tax practice firm called Goodall & Co as part of Work Integrated Learning (WIL). My role as a junior tax accountant intern is to collate, analyse and review various clients’ tax-related documents in order to help the accountants prepare their client’s tax returns.  From this opportunity, I am hoping to gain and refine my analytical skills, my attention to detail, and my teamwork and interpersonal skills, and to be able to put the theoretical knowledge acquired at university into practice and carry out actual ‘real-life’ work.  Furthermore, I am hoping that this exposure in a field relating to my studies will give me a clearer path in terms of the career I would want to pursue in the near future.

Activities such as these have challenged me to step outside my comfort zone and have helped me grow into a confident individual despite growing up very shy and reserved due to my hearing loss.

I believe the constant social interactions and learning experiences have allowed me to be more open and confident when interacting with larger groups of people. For example, I now find delivering presentation assessments and participating in tutorial discussions, both which are assessed on the basis of participation and engagement, something that I enjoy and am not afraid to partake in anymore.

UWA has given me the stimulus to grow as a person and has taught me what I need to know before I engage in events, volunteering and work-experience opportunities. I believe it is also by taking courage to engage in other opportunities outside of the University that has allowed me to continue to grow and define my career path.

Without the support and encouragement from the UWA student services UniAccess team, I would not have been exposed to such enriched opportunities.