Friday, 1 June 2007

Surprised and ecstatic were the responses from UWA Business School graduate and Princeton scholarship winner, Mr Giri Parameswaran.

"I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to study abroad for an extended period of time, let alone at an Ivy League university," Giri said. "In many ways, it still feels quite surreal."

Since completing two degrees at UWA, a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Economics (combined) and then completing honours (first class) in Economics in 2006, Giri has been employed as a tutor and a research assistant. At the conclusion of his degrees Giri was awarded the Economic Society of Australia Honours Prize for top honours student in the discipline.

Giri applied for numerous US scholarships and was offered three from UCLA, Stanford and Princeton. Winning a scholarship means Giri will be able to commit fully to his study without having to juggle study and work commitments.

"For the entirety of my time as an undergraduate, I've lived away from home, and have never been particularly good at juggling work, study and other commitments. I'm certainly looking forward to being able to commit to study, without having the pressure to work. By all accounts, the workload in the first two years of the PhD is of a magnitude I'm unaccustomed to." he laughingly said.

Princeton is a university town in New Jersey, 60km South West of downtown Manhattan. The Princeton PhD course, which begins in mid August, is five years in length, consisting of two years of coursework and then three years of research.

"I had planned to travel through South America for a month or two before arriving at Princeton, but mum has decreed that I'm not allowed to leave until the last possible minute, given that I won't be back in the country for a while! So I guess I'll be walking the corridors of the Business School for a few more months."

Giri anticipates that the PhD will help open doors down the track, although he is currently enjoying tutoring and lecturing. "At this stage I am keen to pursue a career in academia, but I try not to think about these things too far ahead," he said.

He added the best thing about attending UWA was the calibre and enthusiasm of some of his lecturers. "I've had a number of teachers, particularly Professors Turkington and Miller, and Reverend Borthwick from Philosophy, who've enthused and encouraged me to study economics and eventually to apply to do my PhD in the US," he said.

"Economics as a discipline, and academia in general, weren't even on my radar when I left high school. More than anything else, I think the attention and encouragement I've received from staff at the UWA Business School have helped me most to get where I am," he added.

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