Business student stories

Effective planning
“I believe the key to balance is effective planning. As a detailed planner, I like to organise my day and week well in advance. This approach was especially helpful when I was balancing full-time work, studies, family and church commitments, as well as other extracurricular activities.”

Stay curious
“The biggest lesson I took from my time at university is to stay curious and maintain an inquisitive mind. A key part of this is continually finding ways to work smarter, not harder – often by embracing emerging technology. This mindset has helped me pursue projects and career opportunities that align with my core values.”

Tuākana
“While at university, I was approached to become a Tuākana Tutor in my second semester. The Tuākana Programme is phenomenal – it offers a culturally rich and supportive environment where Māori and Pacific students and staff come together to learn, grow, and succeed. Being part of this programme enhanced both my social and academic experience.”

The BCom experience
“The BCom experience was both fascinating and highly relevant. Many of the case studies I worked on for assignments were current, reflecting real-world events nationally and internationally. I learned to use tools like Excel, Alteryx, and other systems that I still rely on in my work today. I also looked forward to guest lectures from industry experts and corporate professionals, which were always insightful. Overall, I feel the BCom programme thoroughly prepared me for life after university.”
 

University: a great time to explore
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, especially if you feel unsure about what you should be doing. I think there’s an expectation that first years will have studied certain subjects at school and arrived at university with a solid plan.

“University is a great time to figure yourself out, and explore what you want to be doing.”

A creative and people-based career
“I knew I wanted a career which was creative and based around people. That’s why I chose Marketing. Management is also people-centred, and it really complemented marketing, so I chose that as my second BCom major.

“They felt like really versatile majors where I would learn a broad range of skills. And they weren’t industry-specific, which was great because I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do after university.”

Transferable skills
“The most valuable things I learned at university have been the transferable skills – leading a team, problem-solving, testing different solutions, implementing those solutions, managing stakeholders, having a vision, and being strategic.”

Community service
“At school, I found my true passions outside the classroom, getting involved in community service and advocating alongside other students to make positive change. I always had an affinity for English and business-related topics. Combined, these offered me opportunities for creative thinking and real-world insights.”

Extra-curricular activities
“At university, I was very engaged with extracurricular activities in the Law and Business faculties. I found it an opportunity to apply the theoretical content I was learning to real-life situations and develop my leadership skills.

“I learned many skills while at university that directly apply to my day-to-day role. The e-commerce space that Moodi operates in is fast-paced and constantly evolving.”

Velocity 100k Challenge
“I also participated in the Velocity 100k Challenge during my final year. I came up with an idea and pitched it in the Challenge. That idea was Moodi – the business I run today. Velocity gave me the confidence to believe I could execute what I’d come up with and bring it to market.”

Impact Consulting Group
“My most memorable experiences at the University were in clubs and extracurricular activities. I was Co-President of the Impact Consulting Group, a pro bono consulting club. We supported non-profits and social enterprises, for example, advising them on how to advertise new financial products they wanted to release and how to reach out to different audiences. That really helped me get the biggest interaction with real people working on real things with real concerns.”

Corporate social responsibility
“I was surprised to discover some tangential Business papers within the Bachelor of Commerce where we explored beyond what we were specialising in. We talked about corporate social responsibility and what ethical marketing looks like. I found that interesting because we had a glimpse of what was beyond just a regular business world. In my opinion, a business world that is urgently in need of transformation and change.”

Sustainability
“I used to do theatre and would like to return to explore the intersection of art and sustainability in climate. I think sustainability is something that you carry throughout your life. It doesn’t stop when you clock out of work. It never stops, it never ends. It’s about creating a world of decent work. We want to create a world where our environment is in balance with humans.”

Priorities
“I think it’s about being honest with yourself from the start and having clear priorities. For example, good grades may be a top priority, but it’s also about knowing what comes next, like valuing family or knowing when to say no to distractions.

High school years
“I received the University of Auckland/Manurewa High School Business Academy Scholarship, which covered my entire tuition. Winning the scholarship was an incredible support.

“In high school, I wasn’t sure about my future path, so I explored different options by taking subjects like business and science. To gain hands-on experience in business, I joined the Young Enterprise Scheme, where we developed a hand-sanitising wristband.

The first-year core programme
“The BCom core in the first year does a great job of providing a variety of experiences, helping first-year students to understand what each subject is about and what career paths they could take. I enjoyed the group discussions and presentations because they helped me build skills and work with others. In real life, you don’t get to choose your work team, so those assignments are excellent preparation.”

Values and self-worth
“My advice is to block out the noise that doesn’t matter and focus on your own journey. Don’t let others’ opinions define your worth.

“I grew up in a whānau who are deeply committed to hard work and their community, who are ahikā on our marae and are the type of people who would drop everything to support any kaupapa. This dedication has become second nature to me. I’m always willing to pause what I’m doing to go back home, stay connected, and lend a hand to my iwi, hapū, and whānau.”

Why Auckland?
“When I decided to go to university after high school, I asked my koroua for help in finding the best fit. I told him that I wanted to study Business, and he recommended the University of Auckland, saying it had the best Business School. Since he knew me best, his advice drew me towards the University. I also felt I needed to attend a university where I could challenge myself. So, I decided to take a leap and move to Auckland to grow.”

First year core courses
“I think the first-year core is really helpful because it gives you a bit of a taste of everything. That’s actually how I figured out what I wanted to major in – I chose the courses I enjoyed and found applicable to real life and made them into my majors.
Applying what I’ve learnt
“I am able to apply a lot of what I’ve learned in my degree in both my personal and professional life. For example, knowing your employee rights. When I was self-employed I was able to use what I had learnt at university about employment law to set myself up as self-employed.
“And from studying Marketing, I was able to learn how to manage relationships, communicate with customers and understand consumer psychology. In the working world, you’re dealing with people all the time, whatever your role may be, so it was really useful.
Transferrable skills
“I also learned so many transferrable skills through my degree which I have been able to use in my work. Communication skills, relationship building, time management, prioritisation, team work and so much more. I found a degree in Commerce was great at giving you that overall skill set that you needed when you enter the workforce. Everything I’ve learned at university has had some impact at one of my roles.”
 

Business success programmes
“The University is strongly committed to student business success programmes. For example, Velocity inspired me to explore new career avenues for my skillset. And I experienced the ways in which your imagination can shift your thinking, excite you, and show you how to turn ideas into reality.

Gaining confidence
“My studies have enabled me to move into new situations and environments with confidence because I understand the underlying systems and data functionality. After completing my studies I gained a Business Analyst position at ASB – and vivid insight into the working culture of a major corporate. There were challenging projects, some with regulatory hurdles. By applying my theoretical knowledge I delivered tangible results, allowing for smoother business.

Activating my skills
“Through the Velocity programme, I first encountered Vend limited, a locally founded and now multinational point of sale software company. I was inspired by their vision. Later a position in the data field became available and I put significant hours into their practical testing. The skills I’d learned over the years really came into play.

Working with solid data
“Currently at Vend I sit across the strategy and finance teams, completing work for our offices globally. Major projects involve mapping out the key components that make a retailer successful and tracking those metrics over time. I work closely with the sales and product teams to tackle the issues in their business units that only solid data can unearth.”
 

Why Management?
“I was interested in Management as I believe that people are at the core of any business. Once I began my courses, my eyes opened to the possibilities and all the fascinating avenues that you can explore within Management. Accounting was essential as I believed that understanding budgeting and management accounting was necessary for any kind of management position.”

Key skills
“Beyond my majors, the skills I learnt at University have come in handy. Each project with a client is not unlike an assignment: we have to figure out the core of the problem, do the research, come up with recommendations and then write it up all before the deadline.”

My current role
“I work in the Reward Team at EY, which focuses on remuneration. Things are never boring. There is a huge variety of different projects, so there is always a new challenge to face and something to be learnt.

“I use the knowledge and skills I gained from both of my majors in my job. Accounting has helped me when dealing with numbers, data and spreadsheets. The theories I learnt in Management help form a foundation of understanding around remuneration, as well as how things like organisational structure and key values impact people’s remuneration in different organisations.”
 

Co-curricular activities
“The most valuable experiences the Business School provided me were the internships and job opportunities while I was still studying.

“I applied to be a Business Intern in the University's VentureLab programme and got my first role at a start-up through that. I was then able to get two other internships, both at start-ups, through the Business School.

“I gained so many skills through these roles. I learnt about what the real world of work was like, and what I did and did not want to do after graduating. My internships really showed me where I want to go, and what I am passionate about.”

University events
“I was also able to network with employers at University events which gave me the practise and confidence to ask industry professionals for guidance. Additionally, I signed up to a mentorship programme at the Business School and was paired up with a mentor who really helped me prepare for applying for roles after graduation.”

My current role and future
“I currently work for a deep tech start-up which refines precious metals from e-waste. Long-term, I want to get into the venture capital space, and invest in up-and-coming technologies.”
 

Free resources
“The University has so many free resources for students, both for during their time at university and for when they are graduating and applying for jobs. I was able to use all of them and found them so helpful, and I wanted other Pacific students to have the same experience.”

Schoalrships and internships
“Encouraging other Pacific students to use the University’s resources, to apply for scholarships, and internships was really important to me. I know that sometimes we feel like we can’t achieve something but at university, we can. They have the resources to help.

“Scholarships especially are so important. They take a little time and effort, but it is so worthwhile, especially because there are so many you are automatically eligible for. They definitely made a difference for me.”

Co-curricular activities
“I would really encourage students to participate in co-curricular activities at university. I can’t emphasise enough how important they were for my success as a graduate.

“They were helpful not only for developing skills, but also for having more points of reference for your recruitment journey as well – I was able to use my experiences when I was applying for internships and grad roles.”

Tuākana tutor
“My roles in clubs and as a Tuākana tutor really helped me develop important skills like engaging and relating to people, presentation skills, communicating effectively to different audiences, relationship building, self-management, concept development, and more.”

Transferable skills
“These are some of the most valuable experiences I had at university. I was able to take all these transferable skills into the workplace, which has helped so much.”
 

Why Accounting and Commercial Law?
“It wasn’t until I finished my first year of uni that I decided on my majors. I enjoyed subjects that dealt with numbers, so Accounting was a natural first choice. I decided to major in Commercial Law as it was the course I really enjoyed in my first year.”

The Waka Kotahi Emerging Professionals Graduate Programme
“I was part of the Emerging Professionals Graduate Programme here at Waka Kotahi. You move between three teams and I chose the procurement team for one of my placements as it aligns with my Commercial Law studies. I’m now a Procurement Manager. We provide advice, support and guidance for all types of procurement activities, not just infrastructure.”

Career development at the Business School
“I took advantage of several networking events and career support opportunities at the Business School. The networking events gave me a good understanding of different firms in the New Zealand business community, and the CV clinics helped me to adjust my CV to make it more effective.”

The language of finance
“The Finance major helped my career, mostly by building my foundation of understanding in the language that is ‘finance’. Terminology in this major can be difficult to begin with, but as with learning a language, it becomes a lot easier once you familiarise yourself with its vocabulary."

Variety in your first year
“There is a good mixture of compulsory core courses in the first year of the BCom degree, spanning all key areas of business. This helps you get a feel for what you enjoy and what you might want to major in. There is also a good balance of group work and individual work – both of which teach important skills required in the workplace.”

The value of clubs
“Outside of class, the Business School has high-quality clubs, a lot of which are known and respected by employers. There are endless choices of clubs, with many providing invaluable opportunities and experiences – during my time on the Executive Committee of Beta Alpha Psi, I was able to travel to Washington, DC in the US for a conference. I highly recommend getting involved.”
 

Industry events
“My most memorable experiences at the University were attending the networking and industry events. The University has shaped my personal and professional growth by building my network in the property industry, which is crucial for a career in the sector.”

An innovative and ubiquitous industry
“I expected to learn the fundamentals of Property and the key drivers of the industry. I was surprised to learn how innovative the property industry is, continuously adapting to keep up with new market trends. My studies made me appreciate that property is an integral part of every sector, whether in the form of Infrastructure, Investments, Accommodation, Developments, Mortgages and so on.

Tuākana
“I came into the Tuākana programme in my first year at the University through attending workshops and exam preparation sessions. In my second year, I became a teaching assistant/tutor – hosting workshops and sessions, which I continued in my last year. The Tuākana programme was a key highlight of my time at the University. I was able to build my network, support fellow Māori and Pasifika students and further develop my skills and knowledge through teaching.

“All the courses I took at the University have provided me with a wide range of fundamental skills I use every day, both in my work and personal life.”

“I’ve always been fascinated by the economy and the operations of large companies. However, I wanted something different to complement this. Property had been on my mind, but I didn’t know much about careers apart from real estate. Coming to the University Open Day cemented my interest. The lecturer put up $50 for anyone who could name a business that didn’t require property. Then it clicked.”

Conjoint degrees and diverse courses

“With the Commerce degree I’ve been able to get a broad view of many topics, including economics and finance. The conjoint allows us to explore many Commerce concepts in greater detail.

“I’ve enjoyed many courses, but Property Valuation was a stand-out. It was very practical. For instance, we had to create a valuation report for a property, which was marked externally by a valuer. That was a great way to get industry feedback.”
Scholarships

“The faculty offers many scholarships and awards. They also encourage and organise industry support and networking. There are lots of company scholarships, some with work experience.
“Having received company scholarships, it’s extremely reassuring to know that there are people in industry who believe in me. The interview process for scholarships has sometimes involved meeting CEOs of listed companies. That’s a rare opportunity for a university student, but one that the Property department makes possible!”

Clubs

“I really like the range of extra-curricular activities available. For example, the Property Case Competition held by the Management Consulting Club.”

Industry involvement

“This industry involvement was so useful to me as a student. I was able to see what the day-to-day of a future career in property would look like. That helped me to figure out what I wanted to do within the industry. The connections also meant that we had more opportunities for part-time roles, internships and other experience in the industry before we left university.

Internship and employment

“At the end of my fourth year, I was awarded the Goodman Scholarship at the Business School. This led to an internship while I was studying, and then to a full-time role when I graduated. I currently work in the Investment team at Goodman, one of my short-term career goals.”

Why Property?
“I wanted to help my people, and the best way I knew how was through my studies. My education has not only been about how I can help others, but most importantly, how I can help my Mum and Dad and repay the sacrifices they have made for me. Ko ‘eku manatu ma’u pe ki ‘api.

“When I heard about the Bachelor of Property programme at Open Day, I thought ‘this is the one!’ I saw the potential to develop my business skillset, learn technical property skills and take advantage of the professional networking opportunities that lay ahead.”

Tuākana
“The Tuākana mentoring and support system for Māori and Pacific students at the Business School was my saving grace. And the network for Pasifika students is a true highlight of my time in the Business School.

“As the only Tongan and only female Pacific student in my graduating class, I encourage more Pacific students to enrol into the BProp. Be a part of the conversations being had around the property industry – the opportunities are limitless.”

My current role
“I work in the Leasing Team at Auckland Council, managing the community leases for two local boards. I came into the workforce full of technical skills, specialised knowledge and transferrable skills that have equipped me to tackle the challenges that are posed in my job. Whether it be Property Law or Building Surveying courses, every part of the degree has made me confident in my knowledge to succeed in local government.”