Meet Regina, a busy Bachelor of Commerce student at Curtin University, specialising in Event Management and Project Management. Her journey through university has been marked by a series of twists and turns, each contributing to her discovery of her true passions.
Regina’s path to commerce although not straightforward, is a common one. With many talents, passions and a strong set of values, finding a degree that fuels and fulfils her has proven to be a long and windy road.
In school, Regina failed ATAR, just like some of her family members. But, where some of her family took gap years or didn’t return to university, she wanted to try a new path and begin tertiary study immediately. Initially, she was drawn to study her high school passion of performing arts. As a talented musician (who still performs in her band ‘The Zingers’) and the arts captain at her high school, she was sure she wanted to pursue a career in this passion, however rigid commitments required when studying at Arts schools like WAAPA, such as having minimal work commitments and the full-time study load, deterred her. Instead, she found herself choosing to study Commerce, because she found it to be a degree where she could start and then figure things out whilst studying.
Even after immersing herself in the degree, and extracurriculars surrounding her commerce major, like being the head of marketing within Curtin Women in Business (WIB) Club, she still couldn’t find her exact passion. Regina has always had a passion for giving back to the community and involving herself in opportunities where she can do this, so she stuck with the WIB club. Whilst marketing for WIB’s events, she realised that there were other aspects of the club that she was far more interested in, such as the event planning side, so she swapped roles from marketing to pitching and managing events. Regina realised she had found her calling, leading her to pursue the Event Management and Project Management major instead. The exploration and self-discovery she found whilst expanding on her extracurricular skills in WIB allowed her to embrace this degree change and find what she truly enjoyed studying.
Balancing her new studies with numerous commitments, including leadership roles in WIB, the Curtin Enactus Program, the band she plays in and various not-for-profit and volunteering commitments, Regina embodies the essence of multitasking. Her involvement in all these commitments has provided not just social connections but invaluable insights into balance and her limits. Driven by a passion for humanitarian causes, Regina currently immerses herself in coordinating volunteering initiatives, dedicating herself to social sustainability and continuously working in the non-for-profit space. Although Regina initially viewed this extracurricular and passion-driven involvement as separate from her studies, she was thrilled when she realised the compatibility that her skills in Event Management could have in contributing to the not-for-profit space. Now, she envisions a future that intertwines her passions with her studies.
Regina’s advice to fellow students is simple yet profound: get involved. Despite initially never wanting to get involved in university clubs, she truly saw how hard it could be to make friends in limited class time. Joining clubs opens doors to a world of opportunities, from networking with like-minded peers to forging meaningful connections with faculty staff. Through her experience, Regina emphasises the importance of fostering healthy relationships with teachers and tapping into their wealth of knowledge and guidance. She advocates for students to step out of their comfort zones and actively engage in university life.
Regina’s journey shows strength in resilience, adaptability, and the power of self-discovery. In a whirlwind of change in Regina’s university career from deciding against the performing arts, to enrolment to Marketing, to Event and Project Management, she exemplifies the power of exploring your interests, finding what is right for you and embracing that change to pursue what inspires you.
