Rio Bong

Rio Bong has always been drawn to storytelling and creative work, often documenting family life with his camera while growing up in Indonesia. That passion would eventually take him to the University of Waikato to study, before ultimately settling in New Zealand.

For Rio, creativity and human connection have always gone hand in hand. He says Waikato’s Bachelor of Communication, combined with a major in Creative Media and minor in Linguistics, offered the perfect balance of both while equipping him with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed for the working world.

For me, the creative process starts with people: listening to their stories and understanding their perspectives.

“I think creativity becomes most meaningful when it reflects real experiences and authentic voices.”

Linguistics papers deepened Rio’s understanding of people and communication, going “beyond grammar”, to explore the complexities and contexts of world languages, how they develop and how we understand each other. 

“Language is such a core part of how we communicate,” he says. “It gave me more confidence to engage with people from different backgrounds and share their stories.”

Creative Media papers allowed Rio to explore his creative interests and exposed him to the practical aspects of working in the industry. 

The emphasis on group projects taught him the benefits of WIP (work-in-progress) meetings, while MEDIA306: Work-related Media Project encouraged students to give and receive feedback on their work - something Rio describes as “scary and overwhelming at first”.

“It ended up being great practice in putting aside my own perspective and reflecting on other people’s feedback,” he says, adding, “It wasn’t until after I graduated that I realised how important so many of my learnings were.”

Now managing social media for two cafes in Hamilton and Auckland, Rio is drawing on the skills he developed at Waikato while applying his own people-focused approach.

“Now I’m helping build social media presences from the ground up with a focus on community that goes beyond the things we sell.”