Student Profile

Currently:
Master of Business Administration (MBA), online
General Manager, BJH Controls

Nine nights battling the west coast of Tasmania in a sailing boat taught Jill Kokinos a lot about herself and her leadership skills. 'I had no sailing experience and we had three watch groups responsible for sailing the boat,' Jill says of her participation in the Audacious Leadership program she completed as part of her Deakin MBA. 'Crossing Bass Strait at night when it was extremely rough, and living in confined conditions, you learn a lot about how far you can push yourself.' The program also allowed her to see a lot of different leadership styles, Jill adds. 'I could see what works well and I will change some things about my own leadership style because of that. It was an amazing experience.'

The four residential units that will make up Jill's MBA have also proved a huge bonus, she says. 'Change Management and Management Communications, in particular, have brought some life changing moments. They were all based on experiential learning and have been absolutely brilliant.' She has also embraced the opportunity to learn from other residential participants. 'They (residentials) tend to be full of mature age students from all round Australia with a lot of experience in business. It is a huge melting pot of ideas and is fantastic fun.'

Originally a secondary physical education teacher, Jill later combined raising children with working in her family's commercial joinery business. Her journey with BJH Controls, an engineering service to the manufacturing sector, began when she was employed as a part-time book keeper. But, by 2007, she had moved to a full-time position, accrued much more responsibility, and was appointed business manager. Soon after commencing her MBA, Jill took on the general manager's position.

As well as being able to study off campus, a strong factor in Jill choosing the Deakin course was the opportunity to exit at Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma stage if she lacked the time or motivation to continue, she says. 'Because I was going back to study in my 40's, I wasn't sure how I would find the time, or how motivated I would be.' But she soon found the desire to keep going was never a problem. 'I have been fully motivated to continue all the way through it. I have even been thinking about what I could study next,' she says.

As well as the satisfaction of achieving the qualification, Jill says she is experiencing many advantages of doing the MBA. 'I am responsible for all the non-technical aspects of running the business so I liaise with bank managers, accountants and lawyers, and deal with staff issues,' she explains. 'It affirms the way you are doing things and gives you the confidence to know you are using best practice. And when you are dealing with people outside the business who are experts in their field, you know you are using the right terminology. The course was a lot of fun as well - it has been great for me.'