A decision to change careers in his early twenties has taken recent USC graduate Daniel Light from building sites to the bush.

The 28-year-old from Redcliffe graduated in mid-April with a combined Arts/Science degree, after completing majors in Sustainability and Animal Ecology and a minor in Indonesian.

Daniel is now employed by Ecotone Environmental Services and works with environmental service providers in bush regeneration and ecology roles.

“This type of work allows me to create habitats and restore degraded landscapes,” Daniel said. “I just love being in the bush, learning more every day about the limitless different plants and wildlife in our environment.

“Ecological restoration is a fairly young science which incorporates knowledge from several disciplines making it an exciting, innovative field that continues to evolve.”

Daniel said he’s thankful for the theoretical background knowledge of sustainability and conservation ecology that he gained from his USC studies.

“I’ve got a vast skill set thanks to my double degree including survey design, data analysis, developing monitoring programs and being able to write reports that can be understood by those with limited experience of ecological science,” he said.

“This has allowed me to contribute to management discussions in the workplace and also helped boost my confidence when I completed internships throughout my studies.”

Daniel was also the recipient of two scholarships throughout his university career, allowing him to work on flora research in South Africa as well as undertake a language course in Lombok, Indonesia, after gaining a New Colombo Plan scholarship.

“These experiences really helped me decide the direction I wanted to take my career and be able to identify what other skills I might require outside of my university qualifications.”

Applications are open to study at USC, starting Semester 2. Details on how to apply can be found at www.usc.edu.au/learn