About Jacinta
I grew up in Townsville, NQ, and moved to Canberra to study at ANU in 2013, essentially to get as far away from QLD as possible. I fell in love with Canberra and have been here ever since!
I originally wanted to be an academic in psychology and neurology, but fell into social, cultural, and organisational psychology and have loved it. I currently work in consulting, doing organisational change management, culture change, behavioural economics, and some workforce planning work. I balance it with a passion for (and many side projects in) music, dance, sustainability, gardening, and cooking!
Area of study
Bachelor of Science, majoring in Psychology
Epic fail
Quite recently, I was running a workshop with some very important clients, and it wasn't going well, not moving in the direction I needed it to, and things were getting a little heated… I was stress-fiddling with a pen, broke it, managed cut myself on the broken plastic, and started bleeding everywhere. Just so much blood, running down my hands, onto the table, onto my notes... Had to excuse myself to clean up and ask around for bandaids. So awful, I'm still cringing! That'll teach me for fidgeting in meetings.
Proudest moment
Honestly… when I finally got my P plates (later than I'd like to admit - I just never needed a car or a licence until recently)! Also finally graduating, after many failed subjects and setbacks, was a great feeling, mostly of relief but also some pride and achievement.
Top tip
Don't worry about your age, or getting in "early", or applying to grad jobs a year or so after graduating. Nobody is going to care if you don't race through uni and straight into a career! Take the time that you need, to make sure that you're okay with the direction you're going in, and you're setting yourself up for success that works for you (not just to appease mum or dad). I used to worry that, as I took a long time to complete my degree, find my place, and I didn't jump immediately into a grad job, that people would judge me for being a grad that was older than the others by a few years. Needless worry - take the time that you need!