Emily Rose Palmer-Wood

Studying communications is setting Emily Rose up for her passion for making positive change.

Photo of Emily Rose Palmer-Wood

Key facts:

Programme: Bachelor of Communications

“The chance to study and explore how communication varies across different cultures and identities really fascinated me.

“I have been passionate about social change for a long time. My family has a history of standing up for our beliefs in historical protests, and I have always wanted my future career to be one that can help make a positive change.  

“I would love to enter the digital communication field for a charity, specifically around women’s rights, disability rights or sustainability. And I find working for a non-profit or community organisation to be a fulfilling career.  

I love the variety of topics covered in my courses, from social change
and research methods to Māori and Pacific worlds; while they look at very
different subjects they focus on the communications perspective.  

I particularly love the sustainability module. It is structured to be so fun and engaging with different guest lecturers. The main assessments are also something creative, such as creating a board game or a sustainability focused political party with a website.

“University seemed like a huge step up from high school but it isn’t as scary as it might seem. I thought that I would have no free time to enjoy my hobbies and make friends, but it is easy to balance my social, work and university lives.

“Beyond the classes, there is often something happening on campus. I’ve made friends in lectures, and we like to go to the events hosted by the Faculty and different clubs. I keep up to date by following various Instagram accounts. You can also often find something that’s going on just by wandering around the campus!”