Stories from our Accounting students and alumni
Studying Accounting gives you new knowledge and skills, and a lot of new choices in life. Here's how things have turned out for some of our Accounting students and alumni.
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Connor Haar
Bachelor of Business I always knew that when I finished my degree, it would be a strong one to go out into the workplace.
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Ethan Rendall
Bachelor of Business This scholarship has allowed me to focus on my studies, rather than the finances of completing my degree. It’s an amazing opportunity and I feel great."
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Kimihia Solomon-Banks
Bachelor of Business If you are not sure about coming to University, just do it! A lot of us don’t think we are capable, but there is a lot of support [at Waikato], and people here who will help you to succeed.
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Kanj Patel
Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Management Studies with Honours I completed both four-year degrees in only four years and obtained First Class Honours in my management degree. I needed to get on the gas and get it done as fast as possible.
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Judit Dervadelin
Master of Professional Accounting I wanted a shorter course, and Waikato was the only university in New Zealand offering an intensive 14-month masters in accounting.
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Linzi Gao
Master of Professional Accounting Linzi Gao is an international student from Sichuan, China who is motivated to build a successful career for herself as a Chartered Accountant and start a new life in New Zealand.
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Artika Sharma
Master of Management Studies Artika Sharma says the specialist skills she developed from completing a Master of Management Studies in Accounting at Waikato really helped her to stand out from other candidates when applying for jobs.
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Tim Doyle
Graduate Diploma The whole student experience at Waikato was awesome; it creates a huge network after completing university too.
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Kajol Thanki
Bachelor of Management Studies with Honours My time at Waikato has been characterised by a lot of learning and personal growth. I’ve learned new skills and have been pushed outside of my comfort zone through experiences that I could never have imagined I would be a part of when I first started.
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Kristy Manley-Griffin
Bachelor of Business Most of my life I’d been told that I have potential, but I always wondered what it was that I should really do. I remembered enjoying accounting at high school, because I’ve always been good with numbers, but I wasn’t focused enough academically at the time, so I put it on the backburner.
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Chandrashekar (Chandra) Raju
Master of Professional Accounting “The entire programme is structured in a very thoughtful way, starting with the basics, then moving from intermediate to advanced accounting topics. The course brings in elements of information systems and law as well, so we can be decision makers not just book-keepers.”
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Hayley Flett
Master of Professional Accounting It was exactly what I was looking for. Being able to say that I’m the first in my family to have a master’s degree is also pretty awesome.
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Aleena Sutton
Bachelor of Business, Master of Management Studies Studying accounting provides you with many different options. It enables you to work in various branches of accounting and a wide range of industries. It’s also beneficial if you want to start up your own company or work in other areas of business.
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Ruth Venter
Master of Management Studies While studying accounting, Ruth Venter realised that what she really cared about was sustainability. She ended up doing a masters thesis on carbon reporting by not-for-profit organisations, and now works as an environmental sustainability consultant.
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Annalea Tumutoa
Master of Professional Accounting Cook Islands-born Annalea Tumutoa has said “e no'o ra” (goodbye) to her fun-filled career as a flight attendant and “kia orana” to the corporate world on her new journey as a recently qualified accountant.
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Brad Sherman
Bachelor of Business Brad Sherman has been a gardener, a cook in a takeaway bar, exercised dogs for a pet motel, ushered at Chiefs rugby games, and tutored university students. Thanks to his BBA degree at Waikato, he's now employed as a consultant for Deloitte New Zealand.
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Tom Leslie
Bachelor of Business I wanted to study business because it’s an area that has always interested me; it opens the door to a lot of different career options. My family runs a logging business in Whangarei, and when I left high school I started up my own labour contracting business.
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Anna Caudwell
Bachelor of Management Studies with Honours The business degree at Waikato involves so much group work which helps you learn how to work with others to achieve a common goal, rather than competing against others – I think this aligns really well with working in the real world.
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Ella Tappin
BMS Ella Tappin is well on track to fulfilling her ambition of becoming a chartered accountant since graduating as Waikato's top accounting student in 2013.