Fiona Woodfield
Bachelor of Commerce (International Business and Economics)
Taking a Bachelor of Commerce in international business and economics, with a minor in Spanish, has taken Fiona Woodfield around the world.
Fiona was always interested in business. She knew she'd need another language at university, so she enrolled in Spanish night classes in Wellington even before her degree.
She chose Otago because the course had the subjects she enjoyed and wanted to study — and student life was the best in New Zealand.
“The BCom sounded perfect for me, and it was. Staff were really supportive and patient with questions, and very encouraging about exchanges.”
Fiona completed two exchanges during her degree, one to Spain, supporting her minor, and one to Scotland.
“Travel reinforced for me the importance of understanding business in an international environment, and gave me a global point of view,” she says.
“I gained independence, as well as empathy for other people and cultures. Studying there was very beneficial, especially being in Spain at the time of the European debt crisis and experiencing it from inside the Eurozone – it's more real when you are immersed in it.”
On graduating, Fiona landed a three-month marketing internship in Shanghai. “It was great to get hands-on experience working in China, where they value English-speaking business graduates and their western perspectives.”
Back in Dunedin, Fiona volunteered with P3 Foundation, a youth-led organisation aimed at poverty eradication, then started her career with investment service firm Forsyth Barr.
She's now in her third role in as many years, working in international finance. “This is the role I'm most suited to, handling overseas markets.
“While you do learn on the job, my degree definitely set me up for work in the real world. I'm still finding things I learned in lectures relevant to what I'm doing now.”
Fiona plans to travel and work overseas, although New Zealand will always be home.