And the winners are: BEL graduates scoop UQ medals

19 Jul 2018

Nine 2017 Honours graduates from The University of Queensland’s Faculty of Business, Economics and Law have been named University medallists.

One of the highest honours on offer at UQ, University medals are awarded to eligible graduates from the previous year who achieved outstanding academic results throughout their degree.

Medallist Eloise Gluer (Bachelor of Laws (Honours)) said she credited much of her success to the collegial culture at the TC Beirne School of Law.

“I had access to excellent, supportive academic staff and a community of students with a real sense of camaraderie,” she said.

“I didn’t know many people when I moved to Brisbane from Toowoomba, but it was easy to make friends because of our small cohort and strong law society and events focus.

“The School also had great links to the profession. I had a lot of guest lecturers who were barristers or working for government, and there were plenty of professional networking opportunities.”

During her time at UQ, Ms Gluer participated in the mooting program, worked as a research assistant, co-edited Pandora’s Box – the annual academic journal published by UQ’s Justice and the Law Society – and worked as a paralegal, an opportunity she secured through the BEL Student Employability Team.

Ms Gluer said she would advise UQ law students to form strong connections to help them excel.

“Engage with the academic staff, who are always so generous with their time, take advantage of co-curricular activities like mooting, and make sure you balance independent study and reflection with collaborative study sessions,” she said.

Ms Gluer is interested in legal government work, constitutional law and civil regulation. Currently a Judge’s Associate at the Federal Court of Australia, she hopes to enter legal practice as a junior lawyer after earning her graduate diploma.

Indonesian-born medallist Stephanie Dharmaputri (Bachelor of Business Management (Honours)) said she chalked her medal up to support from UQ Business School staff and her own hard work.

“All you can do is work hard and be willing to push yourself towards your end goal,” she said.

“It helps having the guidance of teaching staff. They care about their students and they’re ready to help if you have questions.”

Ms Dharmaputri came to UQ as an international student from Indonesia, dreaming of studying at a university in the world’s top 100. Although she currently works as a casual marketing tutor for the School, her real passion is research.

“I took a compulsory business research methods course in my undergraduate degree and fell in love with research,” she said.

“From there, I applied for the UQ summer and winter research scholarship programs, and then my Honours year.”

So strong is her love of research that Ms Dharmaputri is preparing to move to Melbourne to take on a PhD. After her PhD, she’s keeping her options open: potential pathways include teaching in her field, or diving into industry work in market research.

Ms Dharmaputri said maintaining a work-life balance and healthy friendships were essential ingredients of her academic success.

“There were days when I felt like I had to work on my coursework and thesis non-stop, but you can’t do that indefinitely – you’ll burn out,” she said.

“It’s important to take a rest day or two, have some fun and then get back to it again.

“As an international student, I tried to make friends and mix with a wide range of people, not just other international students from my home country. You should talk to everyone in class and join UQ clubs.

“For me, it was easy to find like-minded people in my Honours degree because we all had the same mindset and a true passion for research.”

Congratulations to all 2017 BEL Faculty University medallists: