A Danish student who enrolled in a one-semester Study Abroad program at USC Sunshine Coast as part of “gap year” travel after high school has instead graduated three years later with a full USC Business degree.

“I was enjoying the Business program and international culture at USC so much that I applied to study the entire degree,” said Natalie Joergensen of Alderley in Brisbane.

Natalie is currently working remotely for a company in Denmark, in a maternity leave position for the marketing coordinator.

“My job includes creating content, search engine optimisation, copywriting in Danish and in English, and the creation of newsletters and online marketing,” she said.

“This position allows me to build on the knowledge I gained from my USC Bachelor of Business (International Business), majoring in Marketing.”

Natalie, who gained a University Medal for Academic Excellence for achieving a grade point average of 6.83 out of 7, said her degree was extremely relevant in a globalised world.

“It helped me improve the skills of critical thinking and solving problems pragmatically, allowing me to work more independently in my current job,” she said.

“I was particularly interested in learning about consumer behaviour, and what strategies a company can apply to appeal to consumers as well as change their behaviour.”

One of her highlights was gaining real-world experience through interning for four months at a South Brisbane company providing industrial mathematics software solutions to industry.

“I had the opportunity to work with the marketing manager to help develop strategies to expand their products internationally,” she said.

“I gained confidence in my ability to apply my skills and knowledge to develop strategic plans, and to communicate effectively in a professional environment.”

While COVID-19 restrictions interrupted her role as a USC Peer Assisted Study Session leader for the Discovering Management course, Natalie said she learned a lot conducting the initial sessions for first-year students.

“I also got to meet people from all over the world and travel to new friends’ homes in outback Queensland, Norfolk Island and Sweden,” she said.

Applications are open to study at USC in 2021.