A Gympie woman who set out after high school with a plan to ‘taste test’ as many different careers and experiences as possible is now working in a marketing role with a major automotive parts supplier after graduating from USC.

Travel agent, farmhand, personal assistant and volunteer English teacher in Austria are some of the roles Lexi Gugger explored in the five years before enrolling in USC’s Bachelor of Creative Industries.

After completing her degree at the end of last year, Lexi freelanced as a copywriter and digital marketer until she landed a marketing and administrative role with GPC Asia Pacific, one of the largest automotive aftermarket parts suppliers in Australia and New Zealand.

“My current role gives me the opportunity to apply various skills and frameworks I learned and honed during my degree,” she said. “It’s a mixture of hard and soft skills, advertising techniques and marketing concepts.”

“I am harnessing my passion for marketing and consumer behaviour to support the company’s strategic initiatives through activities such as coordinating my category’s trans-Tasman marketing for retail and trade across two key brands.”

Lexi, who describes her time at USC as transformative and rich with opportunity, received a prestigious Medal for Academic Excellence when she graduated last month.

This medal was the pinnacle of a collection of awards she gained during her studies, including prizes for being the highest-achieving student in the subjects of Services Marketing and Marketing Communication.

“I had no idea that I would experience so much personal growth, nor that I would have the chance to be a part of many valuable experiences that would shape my future and who I have become,” she said.

During her degree, the 2012 Gympie State High School graduate completed an internship with USC’s Innovation Centre, served as a research assistant, and was an editor of the University’s 2019 student anthology, Here Be Monsters, and its student business journal, JAB.

She was also the account manager and copywriter for a USC advertising student team whose integrated marketing proposal was adopted by the Sunshine Coast Council in 2019.

“I graduated with a GPA of 6.78 out of 7, something I would never have been able to achieve without serious time management, a commitment to only submitting work I was proud of and most importantly, having a ‘why’,” she said.

“My ‘why’ was my driving force and my accountability measure, and it kept me determined to continuously do my best.”

Lexi said her main motivation for enrolling in the USC degree was the expansive career options offered in the field of creative industries.

“Advertising, writing and marketing play a role in virtually every industry, offering incredible diversity and flexibility in career paths,” she said.

“My passion lies in the space where words meet the world, which is what led me to major in Creative Advertising and Creative Writing and minor in Marketing.”

Applications to study at USC in Semester 2 are now open