Student Profile

Simone Heng

TV Presenter with 'Postcards WA' and the face of cable network HBO Asia. Columnist of 'Sexless in the City' in Singapore's 'The New Paper'.
Bachelor of Arts (Communication and Cultural Studies)

Initially I was interested in becoming an actress and chose to go to Curtin for the theatre course as a lot of graduates went on to WAPPA and NIDA. Ironically, it was the course that made me realise I was not up for the theatre 'scene' and was more inclined to television. The degree convinced me that I was actually a great writer and it was these writing skills which sustained me while establishing myself in the Asian entertainment scene.

My lecturers and tutors were flawless. So giving of their time. In my second year, my father passed away during semester 1, and my tutors were so understanding. In my third year, I studied an online unit from Singapore and once again, they were so accommodating of my special circumstances. When I returned in February 2007 to finish my final 6 months on campus, each tutor accommodated my absence as a result of flying to Singapore for HBO every three and a half weeks and back to Uni again. My circumstances were very unusual and their guidance helped me gain results in the top 10% of the course despite all the disruption.

I loved how vocal everyone in an Arts degree is. By third year, people want to be there, they have such strong opinions and are well read, and discussions are passionate and informative. They were great!

I left mid-way during my degree in 2005 to work for Channel V International in Malaysia as a TV host. (All my work is in English). I then continued to work for various shows on Singaporean TV as well as model commercially around Asia. In November 2006, I was given the role as the face of cable network HBO Asia that is aired in 24 countries across Asia. In February 2007, I returned to Perth to finish the last 6 months of my Curtin degree. After being home for 3 weeks, I received a call from Channel 9 to meet with the producers of “Postcards WA” and was signed on for the 2007 season. In semester 1 2007, I was shooting “Postcards” and flying back and forth every three weeks for HBO while also studying full-time at Curtin. My lecturers would tell other students: “Don’t give me requests for extensions, if Simone can get her work in so can you!” Therefore, I became the martyr! After rapping on 'Postcards', I returned to Singapore to continue my hosting duties with HBO Asia and the second season of a kid's TV Show for Singaporean television. That is where I am now...

Has my degree helped? Absolutely! After gaining a lot of weight in 2006, the amount of job offers dwindled, if it was not for the professional writing skills I learnt at Curtin I would not have been able to feed myself! That is how I survived during lulls between jobs! Ironically, now I am one of Singapore’s most recognisable columnists!

I would advise anyone wanting to go into the media, be it publishing or television, to work amazingly hard at Uni. Go above and beyond, it will prepare you well for the type of work ethic you will need in the industry. Communications degree graduates can be a dime a dozen these days so you really need a HD average for anyone to even look at you!