What made you decide to study a Bachelor of Mandarin and Asian studies?

I didn’t have a plan as such for my career – it was more of a sketch.

At the time I was choosing my degree, Australia was very focussed on the Asian region in terms of economic, political and social ties. I had anticipated that Asian languages combined with a knowledge of Asian business and Asian culture would be highly valuable for a career, whatever that career might be. I finished high school and I went across to China where my parents were living at the time and studied at the Foreign Language Institute, and then came back and studied Mandarin and Asian studies at Monash.

One thing that is valuable, looking back, is having a very realistic view on career paths and how certain skills will work in the real world. I think you must be really blunt and realistic about which skills you pursue - ask yourself, what does that mean for the job market? What does a particular skill relate to, and what is the benefit?

You’ve worked in China, the UK and Australia – how has your Arts degree assisted in pursuing an international career?

Learning a language is really valuable. Pretty much everything I learnt about Mandarin was in that relatively brief period that I was studying in China. I learn very much by speaking and listening, so it was important for me to be immersed in that environment and to hear it on a daily basis.

Learning a language provides a completely different perspective and it also means you are comfortable in different environments. Cultural intelligence is a vital skill in the work force. You’re going to be working in completely different environments and with different kinds of people. You might start a new job and be working with somebody with whom you have a big age difference, or someone from a completely different cultural or work background. To have the ability to be completely flexible, open, respectful and curious is really important.

What skills have you taken from your Arts degree into your career?

My Arts degree provided an incredibly valuable foundation of critical thinking, analysis, written and verbal presentation skills, the ability to tackle complex issues and problems and the capacity to work effectively in teams. All those things have proven vital through my career.

I look at the types of people we hire and the types of young people who are successful, and very often it comes back to those basics – how they can work in teams, how they respond, the ability to prepare and to analyse documents, the ability to convey information, and the ability to synthesise feedback. These are basic core skills that can make a huge difference in the workplace and set people apart.

I think an Arts degree, whatever the subject focus, can be invaluable in providing that foundation. I have a number of tertiary qualifications, the most valuable of which is my Arts degree.