Penny McRandle
Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science
Marketing Associate, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
Penny McRandle chose to study at Otago for its variety of Health Sciences courses and discovered a passion for Pharmacology.
But early in her studies a chance conversation led her to sample some papers in Marketing and she wondered if she would be able to study that alongside Pharmacology.
“After my first semester of Marketing papers I wanted to see if I could combine my science and commerce interests. I really liked the people aspect of Marketing, putting complicated ideas into a format that people could get value from.
“I reached out to the Marketing department staff to see what my options were. I started with a Marketing minor and with departmental support I turned it into a double degree, BSc/BCom. Staff were very helpful and I built good relationships with them – although I did have to do five papers in one semester.”
Penny finished her Pharmacology BSc and then her Marketing BCom.
“I discovered a passion for learning at Otago that will be a lifelong skill. University was great and I loved the challenge of studying two different topics. I really enjoyed my time there, studying, volunteering with different groups on campus and being a residential assistant at Cumberland.”
Penny investigated marketing roles at companies with a health science focus. Eventually her persistence paid off and now she is a Marketing Associate for Fisher & Paykel Healthcare with a focus on digital marketing.
“It's part of my job, managing and monitoring social media accounts, helping to co-ordinate campaigns and updating websites. Digital marketing is exciting because it's always changing and expanding.
“Everything I do now is as part of a team, so it helped that I did a lot of group work at Otago. Building relationships and working with people across the business are important parts of my role. And my knowledge of science provides me with a greater insight into the products we market.”