Inspired by his success in business subjects at high school and the leadership lessons in the memoirs of industry greats like Nike’s Phil Knight and Pixar’s Ed Catmull, by the end of Year 12, Nick Morrison knew a commerce degree was for him.

And, even though he had offers from other Sydney universities that were closer to his home in Greater Western Sydney, Mr Morrison was drawn to the sought-after Bachelor of Business Leadership and Commerce at Macquarie University and the Global Leadership Program (GLP).

“I wanted a degree that would stand out in the business environment as the graduate world is highly competitive,” he explains. “Macquarie offered a challenging learning environment and promoted critical thinking in the workplace with intensive units not offered anywhere else.

“I was also drawn to learning more about leadership, as I knew that’s where real benefit is delivered in business and management – knowing how to talk to people, treat people and understand emotional intelligence as well as IQ,” he explains.

With his sights firmly set, at the end of 2017 Mr Morrison not only gained early entry to his chosen degree, he also received one of only two Global Leadership Entry Program Scholarships for his extensive and significant service to the local and wider community.

“It was a complete surprise,” he says humbly, even though as a proud Gamilaroy young man, Mr Morrison had already held leadership positions at school, doing Acknowledgements of Country and participating in smoking ceremonies, as well as school sport. He also volunteered with refugees and people experiencing homelessness, and at his local church.

He remembers, “The GLP scholarship took a lot of pressure off financially, but it was the opportunities it led to that have really influenced the course of my life and career. With a mentor to guide me, in first year I registered for CareerTrackers, which links Indigenous students with employers through internships.”

And that’s when things started to gather pace. “Quite quickly, they put me forward for an internship at Foxtel in my summer break. Growing up, I was a huge fan of popular culture and always wanted to work for Disney, so being in the media industry was like a dream come true.”

After moving around different teams from human resources to corporate affairs, he was offered another internship in content acquisitions in his second year, where he discovered a passion for negotiating. It was another great opportunity, but getting his foot in the corporate door was particularly significant as an Indigenous student.

As he explains, “Getting into the workforce is a key struggle for the Aboriginal community. CareerTrackers is a great pathway and is changing lives, but without the GLP scholarship, I wouldn’t have known about it or been in a position to take on that challenge.”

Walanga Muru at Macquarie was also a huge support to Mr Morrison. “There was never a time at Macquarie that I didn’t feel like Indigenous culture wasn’t celebrated,” he says. “Walanga Muru has such great initiatives, and I always felt an overwhelming sense of support.”

Things were still going well for Mr Morrison at Foxtel, where he moved from content acquisitions to a full-time position in sports partnerships at Fox Sports Australia. “I had a real passion for it and was working under great managers. It was terrific for my career.”

But there were also challenges and much sacrifice. “It was definitely worth it, but it was a struggle doing four units and working five days,” he remembers. “I was travelling two hours each way to uni and on to work, and it was taking a toll, but there was no way my parents or I could have afforded for me to live on campus.”

That’s when Mr Morrison decided to apply for an accommodation scholarship at Dunmore Lang College (DLC), which he received for academic merit and as an Indigenous student. “The DLC scholarship changed my life. I couldn’t have sustained full-time work and uni without it, and would have to have given up my position at Fox Sports or full-time study.

“I’m confident that without the DLC scholarship, I’d be worse off and my career would have suffered. It eliminated my travel time, so I could focus more on my studies and make the most of the university experience, which I hadn’t been able to do. It also meant I could play social soccer again and be part of business and various pop-culture societies. There was a real sense of community and I made lifelong friends.”

Mr Morrison worked at Fox Sports for three and a half years. Without the pressure or commute, he was able to excel in his team, negotiating media agreements and building experience in content acquisition. He completed his degree in 2021 and then, keen to deepen his finance and credit knowledge to enhance his skills in rights negotiations, just over two years ago he took up an opportunity in institutional banking.

“Thanks to my experience at Foxtel, I was able to skip the graduate program and went straight into an associate relationship manager position at Westpac. While I still have a passion for media and loved working at the Foxtel Group, increasing my understanding of finance and credit has been invaluable.

“I’ve challenged myself and learned a lot. It’s a completely different way to do business but I’m still using my relationship management, leadership and negotiation skills, and have recently taken on a new role as an Associate Credit Analyst.”

One thing has led to another, and there has been hard work along the way, but Mr Morrison says his success was made possible by his DLC accommodation scholarship and can be traced back to that very first Global Leadership Entry Program Scholarship he received in his first year.

“I can confidently say I would not be where I am now without the scholarships I received from the generous donors at Macquarie University – the career pathways and experiences they opened up to me were nothing less than life-changing. I’m incredibly grateful.”

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