Award Student
Jonathon Leech
Strategic Communication

I’ve learnt a wide variety of skills at Murdoch, from my time in the screen production program to my communications degree and internship. Across both degrees, I’ve been fortunate to gain real-world experience that has since evolved into career opportunities, which I’m very excited to pursue.
How has your experience at Murdoch helped you grow personally and professionally?
I’ve learnt a wide variety of skills at Murdoch, from my time in the screen production program to my communications degree and internship. Across both degrees, I’ve been fortunate to gain real-world experience that has since evolved into career opportunities, which I’m very excited to pursue.
Meeting a wide range of fellow students and Murdoch has also been a delight, and I’m lucky to call some of them my close friends. The plethora of experiences and insights that they have given me has broadened my horizons to this day.
What are you most passionate about in your discipline?
I’m passionate about improving communications between parties, whether it’s between an organisation and its stakeholders, or between two teammates. Much conflict arises from miscommunication, and I’d like to help prevent it where I can.
How do you hope to make an impact in your field after graduating?
My goal after graduating is to start a career where I can help communicate impactful information and support humanitarian efforts. I plan to achieve this through the skills I gained in both communications and screen production, and remain open to the myriad opportunities where I can apply them.
Ngawang Choden
Global Media and Communication

In a field led by women, I’m excited to contribute to the legacy women before me have built, to help shape a future where our work is recognised for its excellence and valued for its impact. I also hope to contribute to the growth of the communications field back in Bhutan and help elevate the standards, creativity and purpose of the work we do.
How has your experience at Murdoch helped you grow personally and professionally?
My experience at Murdoch has helped me grow both personally and professionally in ways I didn’t expect. Being surrounded by professors and academics who genuinely care about their students and their disciplines showed me what it looks like to love your work and be exceptional at it. This environment taught me the value of investing in myself and seeking growth beyond just classroom walls. It helped me understand that the people you learn from and work with matter just as much as the work you do and the content you study. All my professors have truly inspired me to commit to myself, to be more curious, more disciplined and competent so I can keep doing what I love and stay open to growth in every space I enter.
What are you most passionate about in your discipline?
I’m most passionate about strategic communication, especially within Public Relations and corporate communications, because of the way it can genuinely shape how an organisation or entity is perceived and how it operates internally. I love being able to take information no matter how simple, sensitive or complicated and turning into communication that actually connects with people, builds trust and helps an organisation present its best self. Whenever I see a message or a campaign, I love being able to understand the intention behind it and why it’s framed that way. Sometimes I even try to unpack and rethink how I might have shaped it differently. I think its incredibly fun and fulfilling to craft all the different narratives you possibly can and settle on the one that’s most purposeful.
How do you hope to make an impact in your field after graduating?
In a field led by women, I’m excited to contribute to the legacy women before me have built, to help shape a future where our work is recognised for its excellence and valued for its impact. I also hope to contribute to the growth of the communications field back in Bhutan and help elevate the standards, creativity and purpose of the work we do. Ultimately, as I continue to gain experience, I aim to share what I’ve learned and contribute to a more globally aware and culturally sensitive communication landscape — in Bhutan and beyond — and be recognised for producing thoughtful, meaningful work in the field wherever I can make a difference.
Ananya Giridhar
Postgraduate Communication

The discipline areas of Communication and Creative Media have so much scope to grow positively as well as be affected negatively in the era of fast-growing technology, and I am especially passionate about bringing media arts back to human voices.
How has your experience at Murdoch helped you grow personally and professionally?
My educational experience at Murdoch has taught me to be passionate about the work I do, and to really believe that even the smallest of differences can make the biggest of changes.
What are you most passionate about in your discipline?
The discipline areas of Communication and Creative Media have so much scope to grow positively as well as be affected negatively in the era of fast-growing technology, and I am especially passionate about bringing media arts back to human voices.
How do you hope to make an impact in your field after graduating?
I would like to be able to create opportunities for local artists to showcase their talents, whether that be in the music, visual arts, or film fields, in order to establish and encourage the inherently human legacy of storytelling.
Morgan Howrie
Photography

From a personal perspective, Murdoch has been great in supporting and pushing me to levels I didn’t think I was capable of, both creatively, technically, and conceptually. I am genuinely grateful for the support of the Screen Production lecturers, who believed in me.
How has your experience at Murdoch helped you grow personally and professionally?
Throughout my journey as a student at Murdoch, I have had the opportunity to grow significantly both professionally and personally. Thanks to Murdoch, I have worked on a mixture of student and professional film sets, allowing myself the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a wide variety of roles within the industry. Allowing myself to network with industry professionals before transitioning from student to employee.
From a personal perspective, Murdoch has been great in supporting and pushing me to levels I didn’t think I was capable of, both creatively, technically, and conceptually. I am genuinely grateful for the support of the Screen Production lecturers, who believed in me.
What are you most passionate about in your discipline?
The aspect of Screen Production that I am most passionate about is the journey from script to screen. Having the opportunity to write a powerful script as a foundation and compose a new world for audiences to enjoy within any genre is a unique experience.
How do you hope to make an impact in your field after graduating?
I aim to make a lasting impact in the film industry after graduation by creating and capturing stories that spark conversation and immerse audiences in another reality. I also want to create films that are timeless and appreciated for generations to come.
Joshua Clark
Photography

At Murdoch I’ve been able to embed myself with lots of like minded creative people. Networking and sharing ideas has been a huge part in developing my portfolio and future projects.
How has your experience at Murdoch helped you grow personally and professionally?
At Murdoch I’ve been able to embed myself with lots of like minded creative people. Networking and sharing ideas has been a huge part in developing my portfolio and future projects.
What are you most passionate about in your discipline?
I love both Photography and Screen Production. To me what links the two together is cinematography. Being able to create visually compelling pieces of art with a camera is a true passion of mine. Particularly photographing the natural world.
How do you hope to make an impact in your field after graduating?
After graduating my focus will be around the natural world. Telling stories about the environment whilst promoting positive changes in conservation would be a huge goal of mine.
Louis Matthys
Graphic Design

Prior to my studies, I was simply searching for a way to be creative in my everyday life. My experience at Murdoch opened my eyes and shifted my ambitions, making me me a designer who wants to help people. Participating in the many real-world projects that the university offers gave me insights into the power that design has to help people and how important the discipline is in the real world.
How has your experience at Murdoch helped you grow personally and professionally?
Prior to my studies, I was simply searching for a way to be creative in my everyday life. My experience at Murdoch opened my eyes and shifted my ambitions, making me me a designer who wants to help people. Participating in the many real-world projects that the university offers gave me insights into the power that design has to help people and how important the discipline is in the real world.
What are you most passionate about in your discipline?
I am particularly passionate about brand design, creating beautiful systems that are functional, and built for the people that are affected by my designs. I love to look at each problem from different angles and perspectives to discover how I can create a unique and helpful output.
How do you hope to make an impact in your field after graduating?
I aim to continue innovating and thinking critically when designing. The creative industry is always rapidly evolving and changing, but the need for critical thinkers will always be there. Ultimately, I want to use the design methodologies I’ve learnt during my time at Murdoch University to positively affect the world around me and create beautiful timeless design.
Mitchell Toyne
Sound Design

Mitchell Toyne
Sound Student
Murdoch University has given me the chance to explore my interests and passions in sound design, given me many opportunities for portfolio pieces I wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise, and guided me with industry standard practices for composition, stage design, sound system setup, and much more.
How has your experience at Murdoch helped you grow personally and professionally?
Murdoch University has given me the chance to explore my interests and passions in sound design, given me many opportunities for portfolio pieces I wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise, and guided me with industry standard practices for composition, stage design, sound system setup, and much more.
What are you most passionate about in your discipline?
I’ve always been passionate about composition and audio design, and Murdoch’s Sound Design course has only intensified that passion.
How do you hope to make an impact in your field after graduating?
My big dream is to join a video game studio and make the soundtracks and audio for large games; however, even if I don’t end up joining a big studio and stay as an indie developer, just knowing that people are enjoying my music is enough for me.
More Award Students…

Dominic Cullen
Games Art and Design
Wyatt Siekman – Web Communication
Tara Innes – Journalism
Alexander Walker – Screen Production
Jasper Prestage – Theatre and Creative Production & English and Creative Writing



