Graduate profile

Bachelor of Commerce, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 2011

Currently: Analyst, Deloitte

When Vidusha Ganegoda applied to Deakin to complete the commerce degree she had begun in her native Sri Lanka, she was pleased to receive credits for the subjects she had already completed. 'Deakin gave me lots of credits for my past studies, so that was another bonus point,' she says. A brother already studying here had alerted Vidusha to Deakin. 'He had told me how good it was' she says.

After arriving in Australia in 2009 to study at the Burwood campus, Vidusha says she most enjoyed the flexibility Deakin gave her. 'If I couldn't make it to class because of my part-time job, I could listen to a lecture online. I found it catered really well to the work-life balance I was looking for.'

Vidusha particularly enjoyed all the finance subjects she studied in her degree and says the subject matter helped her in her initial position with Macquarie Bank. 'They were very relevant and applicable to what I was doing,' she says. During her course Vidusha gained a part-time position with Macquarie Leasing which led to her being offered the ongoing position before the end of her course. The role involved securing and managing collateral to the bank's lending.

She found the job enjoyable, Vidusha says. 'It is interesting to see how some of the big companies work and I got to see people doing what they love. On the job, I got to develop skills such as time management and these are things that you can't really learn from books.'

Finding her excellent results led to her inclusion on the Dean's Merit List was a 'pleasant surprise', Vidusha says, and a reminder that putting in the hard work was important. 'When balancing work and study I found it better to make a clear distinction between them,' she says. 'Whenever I was doing one of them, I only thought about that one.'

She advises other students to work hard and pay plenty of attention to time management. 'I would always pace myself well so that I didn't have to cram a lot towards the end,' she says. 'I would also make sure I listened to lectures online if I could not get there and, if I missed tutorials, I would catch up with lecturers later and ask my questions.'

Vidusha now has permanent residency and plans to stay in Australia to further her career. She has just finished with Macquarie after securing a much-anticipated graduate position with Deloitte where she now works as a Analyst.