糖心Vlog

When Nathan Carrasco reflects on his study journey at Waikato, he says the mix of academic excellence and practical learning laid the foundation for a career that鈥檚 both challenging and rewarding.

A passionate environmentalist, Nathan initially planned to study environmental science or medicine, but he decided to enrol for a Bachelor of Management Studies with Honours degree (now called the Bachelor of Business with Honours) instead after hearing Waikato鈥檚 economics lecturers at Open Day.

鈥淚 could see how passionate they were about their subject, so it inspired me to go down that business and management pathway instead,鈥� he says.

鈥淚鈥檝e always been interested in understanding different schools of thought on various issues, so majoring in Economics and Finance has allowed me to focus on the critical thinking side of things.鈥�

From Goa to Gisborne - and beyond

Originally from Goa, India, Nathan鈥檚 family emigrated to Gisborne, New Zealand when he was two years old, and their support has been a huge motivation for him. 鈥淢y parents sacrificed a lot to give us opportunities here, so I鈥檝e always wanted to make them proud.鈥�

A recipient of Waikato鈥檚 prestigious $25,000 Te Paewai o Te Rangi Scholarship, Nathan says the smaller, friendly campus at Waikato made it easy to connect with lecturers and classmates.

鈥淥nce the scholarship came through, it was quite hard to turn down! The friendships I鈥檝e made, the business opportunities I鈥檝e been given; it鈥檚 something I never expected.鈥�

Understanding the world through data insights

With his keen brain for numbers, one of Nathan鈥檚 favourite papers was ECONS205 Data Analytics with Business Applications.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a wonderful paper that sets Waikato graduates apart from other universities. It teaches you how to see relationships between data and helps people make data-driven conclusions.鈥�

He also enjoyed another paper focused on using Microsoft Power BI to visualise data and provide fresh insights that drive business decision-making.

Real-world business experiences

During his studies, Nathan joined a team of Waikato finance students competing in the , which provides real-world experience in financial analysis of stocks.

鈥淥ur team didn鈥檛 win the competition, but I was super happy with the training and mentorship we received, applying those theoretical skills in a practical environment.鈥�

He was then invited to do a summer internship at the Commerce Commission in Wellington, which gave him further insight into economic policy aimed at bettering people鈥檚 lives.

鈥淚t was a really cool experience living in Wellington for four months and learning what it was like to be an economist in the public sector. I had a lot of fresh ideas, so they got me to build pricing models for the electricity sector.鈥�

Nathan got a real buzz when his team was selected for the finals of the Waikato Management School Case Competition, which is part of the capstone paper MNGMGT321 Applied Business Strategy.

鈥淚t was absolutely phenomenal. You鈥檙e asked to develop a business growth strategy for a real New Zealand company, so you have to analyse competitors in the same industry, have an understanding of costs, and think about how your strategy would work in practice.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 quite a daunting thing, but you  learn how to work in a team under pressure and present to judges 鈥� we all took away some amazing skills from that challenge.鈥�

Towards the end of his degree, Nathan was selected for BNZ鈥檚 graduate programme, working with local business owners in Matamata to help them thrive, and he鈥檚 since been promoted several times.

鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly fulfilling to work alongside passionate businesspeople,鈥� he says. 鈥淓very client has a story, and I enjoy being part of their success by helping them make smart financial decisions.鈥�