Deakin delivers skills and confidence for highly-accomplished entrepreneur Marsya Gusman.
When Marsya Gusman left her home in Indonesia to study in Australia, she was not only seeking a university degree but a richer experience of life.
Marsya completed at Bachelor of Business at Deakin’s Melbourne Burwood Campus in 2015 and since her return to Jakarta, has made some impressive career and life achievements.
Establishing her own digital public relations agency, Marsya also works part-time in her role as Miss Internet Indonesia – a title she won last year in a unique highly-contested pageant organised by the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association.
‘The work I do in this role is providing deeper digital education literacy to schools and I’m also involved in seminars as panellist, moderator and spokesperson,’ she explains.
Marsya has also been the anti-drug ambassador for Indonesia's National Anti-Narcotics Agency where she worked on government- backed internet campaigns to encourage internet safety.
Adding colourful variety to her busy life, she also works part-time in the entertainment business.
‘On the weekends I’m often working as a singer and presenter – just to keep me busy and balanced!’ she says.
Marsya says her Deakin business degree provided her with sound business knowledge alongside practical experience and professional networks.
‘I like business, especially marketing because I think most fields in life need business skills – from how to manage people to understanding how industries function. I think we also need business entrepreneurs who are willing to take risks and create more job opportunities.’
On campus, Marsya joined a range of organisations including the Deakin Commerce Society and International Student Support. She also represented the university in sports competitions, attended an ASEAN-Australian Conference and completed an industry internship where she worked as a social media strategist.
‘After completing the internship, I had the opportunity to continue working for the company which gave me more valuable experience, skills and networks,’ she says.
This experience also gave her the confidence to move into a corporate role on her return to Indonesia before starting her own digital public relations business.
‘My Deakin degree was much more than reading text books. It challenged me to work on real-life cases and think critically so that when I entered real world of work I was ready,’ she says.’
Marsya is passionate about encouraging young people to harness their energy and entrepreneurship.
‘While we’re young and have energy it’s the time discover new ideas, be challenged and productive, and keep on exploring. And if we fail along the way nothing is lost – we’ve either learnt something new or learnt to move on.’