A professional makeup artist who became fascinated by the psychology of customer care and business management has received a University Medal from USC for outstanding academic results in her Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology).

Vanessa Moran, of Buddina, was awarded the medal for her grade point average of 6.83 out of a perfect 7 when she received her degree at a recent USC Graduation Ceremony.

The 30-year-old is now studying Honours at USC and planning a career as an organisational psychologist.

“I’m writing a thesis on the situational barriers people face when developing their careers and how they overcome these,” said Ms Moran, who runs her own business, Miss Nessi, providing hair and makeup services to the wedding industry.

“Before I enrolled at USC, I had a diploma of makeup and was manager of a photography studio. This led to my interest in the psychological aspects of systems, customer care, management and leadership.

“My USC degree has since helped with my own business too. Psychology is the kind of degree that you can apply to all aspects of life, in terms of understanding where people are coming from and what their individual stories are.”

The graduate of Sunshine Beach State High School said achieving her university results and gaining the medal for excellence were proud moments.

“I’d been out of school for eight years before I decided to go to university, so I really had no idea how it all worked when I started,” she said.

Ms Moran enrolled in USC’s free Tertiary Preparation Pathway program in 2012 to gain more understanding and confidence about academic expectations before she applied for a degree.

“I loved studying at the beautiful Sippy Downs campus, with loads of healthy food and the convenience of being so close to home and the beach,” she said.

“The psychology program was excellent. The lecturers felt more like colleagues and their focus on high standards has strengthened my writing and research.”

— Julie Schomberg