"The highlight of the BCom for me has definitely been the people that I’ve met in my time, whether it be through subjects or involvement in a student society."

Q&A with Trinity Duffield-Pugsley

Q: What course are you doing within the Department of Management and Marketing?

I’m studying a Bachelor of Commerce.

Q: What attracted you to this course?

Coming out of high school, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with myself career-wise, but I knew I was really interested in pursuing a commerce degree. I attended the UniMelb Open Day in Year 12 and watched a senior lecturer present on the marketing major and from there, I was pretty much hooked. I’m a people-person who’s always oriented towards working and being with other people and going into marketing was a great way to appeal to that – since the discipline is ultimately about understanding, connecting, and engaging with people in a business sense.

Q: Please share with us a little about your background.

I was born in Melbourne but spent my early years in China and Singapore before coming home in 2008, and I’ve been here ever since. I spent my primary and early secondary years thinking I wanted to go into a medical career before later realising that it wasn’t where my passions lay – and through Year 11 and 12 realised that a commerce degree would be much more suited to my skills and interests. I love to travel (Covid-19 has really rained on my parade for that one) and I love watching movies – you’ll catch me at most Marvel movies on premiere day.

Q: What is your major and what does it involve?

I’m completing a double major in finance and marketing. Upon completing the commerce core subjects, the finance major requires you to complete a compulsory level-2 subject, two compulsory level-3 subjects and a level-3 elective of your choice. The marketing major requires you to complete Principles of Marketing as a level-1 elective before completing a level-3 capstone subject (Business Judgement) and at least two level-3 electives of your choice. I fell in love with marketing as a discipline in my first year, so I’ve taken as many marketing subjects as possible – that being Principles of Marketing, a level-2 elective (Brand Management) and four level-3 electives (Digital Marketing, Retailing, Advertising and Promotions, and Strategic Marketing).

Q: What has been the highlight of your course so far?

The highlight of the BCom for me has definitely been the people that I’ve met, whether it be through subjects or involvement in a student society. Marketing within the BCom is very much oriented towards group work, hands-on discussion and practical application – the vast majority of assignments revolve around creating a business/marketing plan or campaign for a real business case, like Nutella, Toyota or even a brand of your own choice. Those assignments have been great for developing real business skills and the friends I’ve made through doing them (or the ones I met through the Students’ Association of Management and Marketing) are friendships I know will last forever.

Q: Can you share an example of a practical subject or project that you think has helped you be "job ready"?

I completed the level-3 subject Retailing whilst I was completing a full-time marketing internship and the skills that I gained whilst completing that subject were incredibly helpful to me in the role that I was in. In my role, I assisted the development of real retail campaigns for the beauty brand that I was working on to be rolled out Australia wide, at thousands of stores, and the assignments, theories and applications taught in the Retailing subject were genuinely helpful in my being able to present ideas and thoughts to the team. The assignment, for example, was a group project where we had to come up with an organic retail strategy for Cotton On in an international market – where we learned how to analyse a consumer market and leverage any opportunities existing in that market for brand success. This was extremely helpful to me when I was in a team doing something nearly identical in the Australian market.

Q: What will be some of your favourite memories of your time with us?

Joining SAMM (the Students’ Association of Management and Marketing) has given me so many of the best memories I have of the BCom – from the people I met to the opportunities I had because of it (my internship experience was directly caused my involvement in SAMM), I’ve loved every minute of it. I also have no complaints about the annual Commerce Ball!

Q: Anything else you would like to mention that you think future students might like to know about the Faculty or University?

If you’re looking to or soon starting the BCom, join a student society when you start your degree! It doesn’t have to be the society that correlates to your major (although that often is something that’s really good to do), but it’s such a great way to make lifelong friends and gain skills that will be so helpful in whatever career you go into. Most of the closest friends I have now are people I met through the committee I’m in and it’s a great way to make stronger connections with the University or with the companies and firms that a lot of societies work with.