Student Profiles

Dan van der Meer

Online Content Producer for Mix 94.5 (radio station in Perth).
Bachelor Arts (Mass Communication) - majored in Internet design and theory, minored in advertising and marketing.

I have always chased the dream of doing a job that allowed me to be creative in my role. After being stuck in the building industry for almost 10 years, it was time to try and make that dream a reality. The degree I chose to do (and subsequently completed) allowed me to make that dream a reality.

From the research that I did, Curtin was the only university that was offering exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to learn internet design, but also wanted the theoretical knowledge behind what makes a good website work, etc. Also, the fact that it could be done in conjunction with a minor in creative advertising was a huge plus.

I absolutely LOVED my time at Curtin. At my first lecture, in a big room with a whole bunch of kids next to me, I knew from that very first moment that I had made the right decision. The facilities were awesome, the student community was really vibrant, and the lecturers were all relevant. It combined perfectly the theoretical knowledge I needed to learn, along with the practical teachings that allowed me to re-enter the workforce with a whole new skill-set.

Most importantly (and I can only acknowledge this now), everything I learnt has not been wasted in my career post-graduation. Everything I learnt was learnt for the very reason that it would set me up for the cross-section of careers I could chase once I graduated.

The highlight for me was successfully completing my degree. I had previously attended ECU when I left school, but failed miserably (in a course that I was not really suited to). Nearly every one of my friends had a degree, and I always thought I could get one too should I find the right course to study.

There were times during my studies where I honestly thought I may not get through the workload or work out exactly what it was I needed to do to get an assignment / exam done. Essentially, there were more than enough times where I had to sink or swim, and every time, I swum. I enjoyed that the most. I learnt so much about what I was studying, but also learnt an awful lot about myself. I started to believe in myself, in my abilities, and in my choice of career path. It was as much an education in myself and my capabilities, as well as what I studied.

I had no problem with any of my lecturers at all. I found them all passionate, willing to teach and extremely helpful when I needed it. In particular, my lecturers in the Internet Studies department were awesome. Some names that immediately spring to mind are Matthew Allen, Helen Merrick, Michele Wilson and Blair MacLeish.

Upon graduation, I got a job for an advertising company as a client sales rep. I worked out pretty quickly that it wasn’t for me, so moved on to a sales position for a large format graphics company. I was there for just under a year, before getting a job in the marketing department at my Dad’s company. I stayed there for just over a year before the job of a lifetime came up for me at Mix 94.5, my favourite radio station.

I have been at Mix as the Online Content Producer for just over a year, and plan to stay here for a very long time.

I would not have had a chance (to obtain my current job) without my degree. I believe it at least moved my application for any of the jobs I have had since graduating from the list of applicants to the short-list. This is particularly so for my current job. I believe there were a lot of applicants for this position, and I’m so grateful that what I studied at Curtin (not just the degree but the elements that made it up) helped my application to stand out from the crowd enough to have made the final cut.

I would only recommend it if that is what they wanted to do, from my experience, you really need to “want” to do what you study at university. Based on that, I would strongly endorse the degree at Curtin. In my opinion, it combined perfectly the amount of theoretical and practical knowledge I needed to