Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resource Management and Marketing
SQTE Administrator, Fulton Hogan Civil South
Kirsten's Commerce degree in Human Resource Management and Marketing gives her the perfect background in all-round business skills, for her current work at Fulton Hogan.
"I enjoyed HRM and Marketing because of how applicable it is to the real world," she says. "The theory that I learnt at university I use daily. Together, these two areas provided me with a very diverse range of paths that I could take in my career."
Kirsten first worked with Fulton Hogan through an MGMT 390 internship in her third year, where she developed a New Zealand national Staff Induction project as part of their Learning and Development team.
"This project developed my communication, ability to carry out investigative research, and allowed me to use some of the theory that I learnt in my university papers. It was through my internship that I met my Civil South team and ultimately got my employment opportunity due to my time in my internship."
Her current role with Fulton Hogan's Civil South team involves managing their Health and Safety, Quality, Training and Environmental processes for civil construction projects.
"My job is to provide support for our SQTE team and to ensure that our people have what they need to be able to do our work safely," she says. "I coordinate their training, manage their health checks, and make sure they get the gear that they need. I also work with our recruiters to do a lot of our new employee on-boarding and induct them into Civil South when required."
Deciding on UC for her studies, Kirsten's double major degree complemented her passions in marketing and working with people. Marketing had always been an interest for Kirsten, with Human Resource Management a new discovery after an introductory course in her first year.
Enrolling with the support of an Altrusa Scholarship from Altrusa International, UC was clearly the best choice for what she wanted out of university study.
"I soon realised that the University is a great place to develop my skills in my chosen field and make some great connections for the future," she says. "I enjoyed being surrounded and taught by lecturers who had an interest in my success and were always available to answer any questions that I had. The University campus is beautiful in the warmer months, making the University a hub to meet friends at one of the café's outdoor spaces."
In between study and work, Kirsten also continues her volunteer work as a means of getting involved in the community.
"I have been volunteering for almost three years now and I continue to enjoy helping young people with a range of disabilities. I am privileged to still be able to give back to the community while working at Fulton Hogan," she says.
As such, Kirsten strongly encourages other students to keep an eye out for the extra benefits that come from studying with UC.
"Be open to every opportunity that you are presented with because you never know where it could take you or what you could learn from it," she says. "For me, being presented with an internship opportunity ultimately led me to my employment at Fulton Hogan."
