Meet this semester’s first Human of MBSSA, Anushree Kesurvala, who is pursuing a Master’s degree in Marketing Communications from the University of Melbourne.
Why did I choose UniMelb for my masters?
So when I started applying I was looking at marketing programs offered by RMIT, Monash and other Universities. I specifically chose Unimelb because the curriculum showed that there was a good balance between theoretical and practical knowledge which I thought would really help me build a good career through the program. So yes, that’s the reason why I chose to do my masters here.
What activities have I been involved in at the university?
Well I came in right when the pandemic started in 2020, but there were a lot of opportunities that I could attend online which was really cool.
So when I first started I was a part of the mentorship program where I was assigned a professional who worked in the field I aspired to be in, and get advice from him on several things such as my resume, ideas on networking opportunities, and industry insights. It expanded my perspective in so many ways.
I was also a part of the LiveProjects organised by Study Melbourne during my winter break where essentially I had to work with a team on a project that could range from consulting to marketing for an actual organisation. We had to solve a problem together and at the end present our solution to the client.
Which events hosted by the University would I say were the most helpful?
So last year there was an event hosted by the University called Meet and Greet. It was organised for my cohort where I could meet my tutors and professors and chat with them just casually. I found it very helpful as I got to know my cohort better, made some new friends and could casually network with professors outside of the University. It was a lot of fun!
Did I face any challenges during my course? If yes, how did I deal with them?
Yes I did face some challenges during the course and had to figure out a way to deal with them. One of them was with written assignments for my classes. I would spend so much time writing those reports, research papers, etc. and then later was skeptical before submitting it as I wasn’t always sure how I wrote. I wanted to get feedback from a third person so it could at least help me get a good grade for the assignment. Later I found out that the University does help with that too. There is an academic writing department where I would email my assignment with the question and they would reply me in 24 hours with feedback. So that really helped me get through the first semester. I also sometimes asked my friends who had taken the course previously to help me review. So if you would’t want to ask the academic department you can always ask a friend 🙂
What is something that new students should look out for? Any advice?
Firstly, congratulations if you are coming to Unimelb! It is going to be a beautiful journey. What I found really helpful when I came here was, I could read the newsletters sent by MBS, different societies like, MBSSA, SMAC and Sustainability at University to keep track of the opportunities. The good part is that all these newsletters source opportunities for you and you don’t have to go out of your way to find them. I could attend networking events, workshops, etc. only by knowing about them through these newsletters. So that is something I would like to tell you as well. Going out there and building a network helps in so many ways.
Thank you so much to Anushree for your time and wise words. Connect with Anushree on LinkedIn here.
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