Olivia Turner

Playing to your strengths and finding out your weaknesses – and getting the support to turn them into strengths – is part of how Olivia Turner has made the ICMS Dean’s List five times over the course of her degree.

Olivia is studying an ICMS Bachelor of Hospitality Management and was recognised at the March 2023 Dean’s List Ceremony – the fifth time out of the seven trimesters she has studied at ICMS. With an average mark of 88% and a GPA average of 4.9/5, her determination to succeed academically has been rewarded with top marks and vindication of all the hard work she has put into her studies.

“It is a very rewarding feeling after all the hard work. In school I didn’t think of myself as ‘smart’, I didn’t think I could achieve results like this in every subject, but here I am proving younger me wrong,” Olivia said.

“The Dean’s List means a lot to me as it is an acknowledgement of all my effort, hard work and hours put in. Making the Dean’s List shows me that I can do anything I set my mind too, especially if you put that extra little piece into all that you do.”

Switching focus led Olivia to ICMS

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Olivia had spent five years working in the education sector as an Early Childhood Educator. The pandemic-induced pause in her career led to her chasing down another interest of hers: Events and hospitality.

“While I am a Hospitality student, I also have a keen interest in events which lead me to choose all my electives in this category,” Olivia said.

“I see myself being a part of the process of creating memorable experiences for others in my career. I’d love to be doing this in a position where I can travel, to have that cultural experience.”

Dean’s List = Standing out from the crowd

It’s not easy making the Dean’s List, which represents a combination of academic intelligence, consistency and commitment.

Employers recognise this and being on the Dean’s List could reward current students in their future careers.

“I believe Dean’s List students have that higher advantage for things such as landing a job role. When going for your dream job, if the manager has a choice between two resumes that are outstanding, but one made the Dean’s List and one didn’t, I believe that is the standout point you have over someone else,” Olivia said.

“The Dean’s List provides a realm of opportunities as it represents your hard work ethic and dedication. It also opens doors to many opportunities on offer that other students may not get, including overseas exchange programs.”

Organisation and Planning Key to Academic Success

“I believe that my personal traits of organisation and wanting to put 110% into everything I do has helped me to achieve my academic potential,” Olivia said.

“Ensuring that I organised my time wisely allowed me to put my all into my learning. Even the hardest of subjects I would turn into a personal challenge and think ‘How can I make this fun?’ and ‘How can I get everything I can out of this?’

“I believe my discipline and enthusiasm to learn as much as I can as I went through each subject also played a large role, as I didn’t leave out any opportunity to learn something new.”

ICMS’ small classes a big factor in Olivia’s academic success

At ICMS, which is big enough to connect you yet small enough to connect with you, there is a wide variety of support options available to students on their academic journey. A common misconception is that these are only available to students who are struggling.

However, Dean’s List student Olivia proves that ICMS provides support to each student on their individual journey – in her case, how to go from ‘good’ to ‘great’ and reach the highest results according to her potential.

“I definitely would not have been able to achieve these high results without the small class sizes at ICMS and the lecturers and faculty that make up the supporting warm environment that is the ICMS community.

“Smaller classes allowed me to ask as many questions as I needed to my lecturers, as well as allowing them to work one on one with me or other students that needed that extra time to grasp a concept.

“Even through Covid when classes were online, lecturers would go that extra mile to make the learning engaging and fun, they would give extra time after the class finished or before it started for any students who needed any help.

“Not only that but Valerie in the Student Success Centre (SCC) helped me with referencing and some writing skills when I first started and it had been a while since I last studied, along with the PALS system that helped me through a couple of challenging classes.

“All of this combined support is what makes ICMS the place that really allowed me to shine.”

For Olivia’s Tips on Maximising your GPA and getting on the Dean’s List, click here.

To connect with Olivia Turner, click here.

For information about ICMS, click here.

For a general story on the March 2023 Dean’s List Ceremony, click here.