Griffith University student Caitlene Hillman has been named as one of the Top 100 Graduates in the Australian Financial Review’s Future Leaders awards, earning a place as a finalist for the Westpac Banking, Insurance and Financial Services Award.
Caitlene and her fellow award finalists endured a highly competitive application process, with thousands of applicants being whittled down to the top 100.
That group then went on to an assessment process with sponsor employers in Sydney, including organisations such as Westpac, BP, Protiviti and KPMG.
Professor Mark Brimble, the Head of Griffith Business School’s Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics, congratulated Caitlene on her extraordinary performance in the competition.
“We are proud to see Caitlene performing at such an exceptional level on the national stage as she moves towards the completion of her studies at Griffith,” Professor Brimble said.
“Caitlene consistently impresses with her drive, initiative and adherence to living the Griffith values, and we wish her continued success in her academic and professional endeavours.”
The impressive result adds to an already-remarkable string of achievements for the Bachelor of Business/Bachelor of Commerce student, who has enjoyed success in multiple competitions during the course of her degree.
Among other standout moments, Caitlene was a member of the Griffith team in the global Point72 competition (which saw her travel to New York with her teammates to contest the finals in 2018), represented the University at the regional stages of last year’s Hult Prize Challenge, and made the top two as part of Griffith’s team at the national finals of the 2017 CFA Institute Research Challenge in Sydney.
“In a competitive job world, you need to bring your resume to life, and the only way to do that is to have the extracurricular and co-curricular activities that show you’re engaged and switched on,” Caitlene said following her experience in New York.
“Griffith bridges the gap between industry, academia and research. The lecturers bring in the industry perspective into the classroom. I think Griffith really provides that … experience you need to succeed in your chosen field.”
Griffith University also has an established track record of success in the AFR’s Top 100 Graduates list; most recently, Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Civil Engineering/Bachelor of Science student Martin Luna Juncal was a finalist in the class of 2018, for the Jacobs Engineering Civil & Structural Award.
For more information on this year’s results, see the Top 100 Future Leaders awards’ website.