Bethany Nelson’s keen interest in event management has taken her from organising school events to being awarded a Medal for Academic Excellence at her USC graduation.

The former Gympie State High School student achieved an outstanding grade point of average of 6.63 out of 7 when she graduated from USC recently with a Bachelor of Business (Tourism, Leisure and Event Management).

Bethany is now organising events, designing marketing material and creating print and social media content in her role as an assistant to the realty director at a boutique real estate agency in her hometown.

She is also a familiar face as a volunteer at many of the region’s festivals and events.

“I try to volunteer as much as I can at community events such as the Gympie Music Muster, Sunshine Coast Wedding Expo and the Big Pineapple Festival,” said Bethany, whose passion for planning events began in Year 8.

“At high school, I was a student leader and also managed the service committee that planned events for Relay for Life and the 40-hour famine,” she said.

“At the end of Year 12, I was recognised with an award for my exceptional involvement and participation in organising and running school events.”

Bethany said turning that interest into a career path seemed the most logical next step after school.

“I also always wanted to further my education by attending university, so it made sense to study something that I was interested in and something that I could use in my future career,” she said.

Along with her enthusiasm for events management, Bethany credits her academic success to being determined and hard-working.

“I also think that communicating well with lecturers and tutors and attending as many classes as possible also contributed,” she said.

“Having a strong support system at home, which allowed me to live and work in Gympie while I studied, were other key factors in receiving great marks and a great end result.”

Bethany said her experience at USC was wonderful. “My lecturers and tutors were always willing to help me with any questions, whether those questions were related to a specific assignment or university in general.”

Details on studying at USC in 2022 here.