Paul Chong
Student
Accounting
Paul Chong's study at Otago has been a voyage of discovery.
Paul Chong's school studies focused on sciences with a view to study Health Sciences at university - following in the footsteps of his elder sister. But it was business studies which eventually lured him to Otago. Investigations into study options and majors set him on the path to become a chartered accountant with a BCom Honours and preliminary membership to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand (ICANZ).
Paul's voyage of discovery didn't finish with study. A chance encounter with the coordinator of the School of Business's Business Case Competition led to a two-year term competing in regional, national and international competitions. In 2004 Paul and his three teammates caused a coup in business education circles by winning the prestigious Program in International Management Business Case Competition in Atlanta, Georgia in the US. They were the first New Zealand team ever to enter the international competition. Early in 2005 Paul and his team carried on the success travelling to the University of Western Ontario in Canada to compete in another international business case competition.
Paul was also named the University's Commerce Representative - a position which has seen him network with students, university staff and business executives. And somehow, he's still managed to work for accountancy firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers in his summer holidays.
"Business studies gives a really good career base. You do a bit of everything in a BCom. While I majored in Accounting I also took papers in management, economics, and information science." The different disciplines give you a really broad base - you learn the jargon from each area but you also learn how to apply the different disciplines to the real world.