A true international student, Qiyu (Eric) Chen was born in China, attended high school in Singapore and now attends the University of Auckland, in New Zealand.
At high school, a late change of heart about the degree he wanted to do meant Eric didn’t have the right subjects to enter directly into a Bachelor of Commerce in New Zealand, so he opted to do a Foundation Certificate at ACG Pathways in Auckland.
“After I had done my high school study in Singapore, I changed my mind to study Commerce instead of Engineering,” he explained. “ACG Pathways offered a fast-track Foundation course, which could get me prepared in half a year.”
With no previous background in Business, ACG offered him the qualifications in Accounting and Economics that he needed for his first year of university.
“I also made a bunch of friends who made my stressful life easier,” he adds.
Now studying a conjoint degree in Commerce and Science with a triple-major in Economics, Finance and Statistics, Eric says university provides him a broad perspective to view the business world through the eye of big data and modelling.
A ‘theory-type’ person, he also loves the intersections and interactions of his different majors.
“Statistics is a useful tool to study Economics, and the coding languages that I have learned like Python and R help with my statistical case analysis,” he explains.
Having received excellence certificates at university and undertaken two relevant internships, he’s well on his way to achieving his career aspiration to be a business, research or financial analyst.
Meantime, his advice for prospective Pathways students?
“Choose your subjects carefully and study hard. Embrace technology and learn how to use Google services, Microsoft Office Specialist, and Cloud Drives. You will need it in the future. And enjoy your life and make lots of interesting friends!”
Eric Chen completed a University of Auckland Certificate in Foundation Studies at ACG Pathways. He is an ACG Ambassador.
