Jaqquline Lawrie, 7 March, 2023
Soul Naylor is a great example of turning your passion into your profession.
In a few short years, Soul has kickstarted her career and gone from a university student to an eCommerce Coordinator at one of Australia’s leading fashion companies.
Building the foundations of her career
Like many starting their career journeys, Soul decided to pursue a university qualification after completing high school on the Sunshine Coast.
With a strong passion for fashion and business, she combined her interests and enrolled in a Bachelor of Business (Management and Integrated Marketing Communication) course at QUT.
“I always wanted to go to university and study in Brisbane, and after researching a few different universities, I chose to study at QUT,” she said.
“QUT stood out to me as it’s a very modern and forward-thinking university.
“They are well catered to business students, and they prepare students for the real world with their mix of theoretical knowledge and practical learning opportunities.”
When asked what influenced her to pursue a business degree, Soul said it complemented her interests and offered a wide range of career opportunities.
“I’ve always been super interested in business and fashion, so I decided to merge my interests and pursue a career in fashion marketing and management,” she said.
“When considering what degree to study, I chose QUT’s Bachelor of Business as it’s broad and wide-ranging and offers many career opportunities.”
QUT’s Bachelor of Business offers a diverse selection of majors, minors, and electives, enabling students to tailor their degree to their career aspirations. With an emphasis on hands-on learning, industry connections and real-world experiences, QUT’s undergraduate business degree prepares students to start their professional careers with confidence.
Soul Naylor, Bachelor of Business (Management and Integrated Marketing Communication) at Beginning Boutique's Head Office. Photograph: Tony Phillips/QUT
Connecting with industry
Complementing Soul’s learning was the professional work experience she completed as part of a work integrated learning (WIL) unit.
WIL is embedded into every business course at QUT and involves authentic learning opportunities where students put their learning into practice. These experiences combine coursework and assessment with practical application linked to industry and community partner organisations. WIL opportunities offered to QUT students include:
- Internship placements,
- industry based or partnered projects,
- community based or partnered projects, and
- experiential learning projects for students to pursue specific areas of interest matched to their career aspirations.
Associate Director of QUT’s WIL program for the Faculty of Business and Law, Ingrid Larkin, said work integrated learning and authentic learning approaches are ‘business as usual’ for the faculty.
“Our WIL program across internship placements, projects and experiential learning provides a selection of opportunities for students to apply theoretical knowledge and refine professional skills.
“The combination of guidance from both academic and industry supercharges students for transition from university to professional careers.”
87.8% of QUT business graduates are employed four months after graduation*
With a goal of a career in fashion marketing and management, Soul researched local fashion organisations providing internship opportunities.
That's when she came across Beginning Boutique, an Australian-owned, multi-million-dollar fashion company based in Brisbane. As a customer of Beginning Boutique, Soul was already familiar with the company and eager to secure an internship placement.
When approaching QUT's WIL team with her preferred organisation for an internship, she was pleasantly surprised to find out that Beginning Boutique was one of QUT's established industry partners.
Beginning Boutique's CEO Sarah Timmerman (left) and QUT Alumnus and Beginning Boutique's eCommerce Coordinator Soul Naylor (right) at Beginning Boutique's Head Office. Photograph: Tony Phillips/QUT
The QUT Business School is well-known for its strong links to industry and the community and has more than 1,200 active partners offering internship and project opportunities, and employing QUT graduates.
“I've always been interested in fashion, so when I discovered Beginning Boutique was not only QUT's industry partner but somewhere I could intern, I applied straight away,” said Soul.
“The whole application process was very fast, and after the work integrated learning unit, I even ended up being hired full-time.
“Overall, it was a great experience, and thanks to QUT’s industry connections, I was able to secure my dream job.”
An internship is a great way to get your foot in the door, gain professional work experience and build your professional network. In instances like Soul's, internships can even lead to full-time employment.
Ingrid Larkin said WIL experiences enhance students being well prepared for successful graduate careers.
"For many students, like Soul, an internship can lead to a full-time graduate role and even career opportunities into the future.”
Find out more about Beginning Boutique’s career and internship opportunities here.
Learn more about QUT’s work integrated learning opportunities available to undergraduate and postgraduate business students.
Explore work integrated learning opportunities
*QILT Graduates Outcomes Survey 2019-2021