Indian resident turned Melbourne marketer

From an internship that led to employment, former Victoria University (VU) international student Crispino Santamaria says VU’s Centre for Student Success played a pivotal role in his entry to the Melbourne workforce.

Crispino came to VU from the west Indian state of Goa in 2016 to study the Master of Business Administration (Professional), building on a background in retail and hospitality.

During his two-year degree he was offered an internship with EcoSouLife, a leading designer and manufacturer of eco-friendly household products, and now has a permanent position as the company’s marketing and social media coordinator.

He credits a large part of his career success to the skills and networks he developed from VU’s Centre for Student Success.

My master’s really sharpened my skills and helped me gain knowledge in frontline management, leadership and critical thinking, and the centre gave me confidence.

"Outside of the classroom, I developed valuable soft skills and networks. I attended workshops that gave me insights into the Australian workforce and I had one-on-one career advisory sessions with people who work in the industry – these sessions were very helpful because how you apply for jobs in Australia is quite different from India. Here, your resume needs to be personalised for each and every job you apply for."

During his degree, Crispino also took part in VU’s variety of extra-curricular activities.

As a paid Student Transition Mentor he helped new students adapt to the rigours of university study, and as a volunteer in the VU Vollies program he participated in activities on campus and in the local community.

Crispino says he chose VU and Melbourne because of their excellent reputations, with VU ranked in the world’s top 3% of universities (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023) and Melbourne being the world’s most liveable city for seven years running (Economist Intelligence Unit Global Liveability Ranking).

“When I was looking at study options, I got to know that VU is highly ranked and it is very affordable compared to other universities so it ticked all my boxes. I spoke to past students as well and they spoke highly of VU, so it was an easy decision to make.”