Roberta Tokunaga was with her family when she learned that she’d won the UTS College Outstanding Graduate prize (a cash award for the highest Grade-Point-Average in her course) for Communication. She was back in Brazil for Christmas. “When I received the email, I wasn’t sure if it was real,” she says. “So, I contacted the university and they said, ‘It’s okay. It’s real’. We were so happy, and my Mum started telling everyone. I was like, ‘Mum, please, no!’ But she said, ‘Everyone needs to know.’ Things were a bit crazy. It was a week or two before Christmas so were already in the rhythm of celebrations. Christmas in Brazil is great, and my birthday is just after that, so it was a really happy time.”
Having already completed journalism studies in Brazil, and with some professional experience under her belt, Roberta is now studying for her Master of Strategic Communication at UTS. She says, “After I graduated in Brazil, I worked as a journalist for three years. I first came to Australia to study English. When I finished that, I wanted to do more study here and I was looking for opportunities to study communication. I was attracted to the courses at UTS. I thought they would be great for me. It’s one of the most famous schools for journalism in Australia and I know it’s a good university.”
Learning new cultures, new people, new languages
Roberta’s enthusiasm for communication emerged early. “I’ve always been a very talkative person,” she says. “And at first, I wanted to do everything – every profession you can think of. But I always loved to write and to read. I started thinking about being a writer and writing books for a living, and I wondered what course you could study for that. That’s when I thought about journalism. I thought that would be great because in journalism I could write about anything. I like fashion, so I could write about fashion. I like sports, so I could work with that, and I’m interested in politics, so I found myself in journalism.”
Studying Communication at UTS College can open the doors to a career in film, media arts production, marketing, social media, professional writing and publishing, and more.
Her biggest inspiration is renowned Brazilian journalist, Gloria Maria. “She travelled to more than 100 countries, working, travelling by herself around every part of the world. Learning new cultures, new people, new languages – I think that’s awesome. She passed away about two years ago, but she was huge in Brazil. Being a foreign correspondent or something like that, I think it’s my dream,” she says.
Learning it all again in English
Returning to study after several years in the workforce had its challenges, and Roberta found her experience at UTS College extremely helpful. She says, “Academic Writing was a subject that really helped me in my course. It helped me to remember how to write an essay. I mean, I did academic writing in Brazil, but that was five years ago and it’s not something you use every day. And my journalism degree was all in Portuguese. Now I was doing it all in English for the first time. But the College was great. Everyone was so nice to me.”
Sydney life also suits Roberta, and she’s settled in comfortably. “I’m an outdoors person,” she says. “I like going out. I love going to the beach with my friends, so I’m a little sad that summer is over. I usually go to Maroubra, but I'd say my favourite beach is Coogee.”
An important milestone
Moving on to her master’s at UTS is an important milestone. “When it’s busy and challenging, I think it’s nice looking back at where I started. I’m very proud of myself. I think to look where I’ve come from and where I am, I feel pretty sure I’ll get where I want to be,” she says. “I always remember why I started doing this. That’s important because if you don’t have a goal, it’s easy to give up. So, I always try to think what I want the most in life, and what made me come here in the first place.”
Roberta hasn’t lost sight of her journalism goals. She says, “I want to live this experience, working in journalism and communication. I’m ready to accept the challenge of working in another language, in another place. Sometimes it makes me feel a little bit anxious, a little bit nervous, but I really want this.”
She has similar advice for future students. “Focus on what really matters. I know it can be hard sometimes but focus on what you want and remember why you’re here. Work really hard and be brave because it’s worth it,” she says.
When you study Communication, the possibilities are endless. You can open the doors to a career in film, media arts production, marketing, social media, professional writing and publishing, and more. Roberta is just one of our graduates now pursuing their creative passion. We couldn’t be prouder of her achievements so far.
Find out more about the UTS College Diploma of Communication >