Meet our students

Angelica Sutantyo's passion for Math has led her across the world, from her Foundation Studies classroom in Jakarta to UNSW Sydney's Actuarial Studies classroom. 

"Math has always been my passion and the fact that actuary is highly demanded in the future is enough reason for me to choose a Bachelor of Actuarial Studies.”

An actuary is a business professional with advanced statistical skills who measures and manages risk and uncertainty. Many find work in areas such as data science, insurance, finance and consulting. The Bachelor of Actuarial Studies at UNSW only accepts the highest achieving business students and is one of UNSW’s Business School’s most rigorous degrees.

Angelica chose to study a Bachelor of Actuarial Studies at UNSW.

Angelica chose to study this degree at UNSW due to its strong reputation and number one global ranking in risk management, insurance and actuarial research and used UNSW Foundation Studies as a pathway into the program from her home country in Indonesia. Foundation Studies is a supportive pathway to the first year of many UNSW degrees. The programs are designed to suit a student’s academic and English language skills and prepare students for study at university. Foundation studies gave Angelica a glimpse into how universities teach and the pace and workload expected of students.

"Foundation studies have really helped me transition better between high school and university. No one ever really mentioned how different university and high school could be. If it weren’t for foundation studies, my first year might have been a huge mess.”

After successfully completing her Foundation Studies program in Indonesia, Angelica set about studying to be an actuary over 5000 kilometres from home, but her time in Sydney has been anything but lonely “UNSW holds a good balance between studying and social life. At first, it was daunting however, everyone here has been very welcoming. There is so much support, not just in terms of academics but also well-being. This has helped me adapt and adjust to living in a brand-new country more comfortably.”

Outside of learning actuarial skills and content, Angelica has been developing personally in her time at UNSW “UNSW has helped me improve my social skills a lot! I used to be a huge introvert but since the people at UNSW are very welcoming, I became comfortable speaking up and reaching out to people. I gathered my courage and joined many events and even became a subcommittee member.”

Angelica hasn’t forgotten her roots and is part of the UNSW Indonesian Society HR Subcommittee, one of over 300 groups and societies at UNSW. “UNSW holds many events and societies depending on students’ interests. It’s easy to meet new people with similar interests through those societies”. She’s also seized valuable experience in this role, “this helps me improve my soft skills in communication and teamwork. I figure that the work industry is so much more than what you learn in class so having a wide range of experience working with people and facing real-life problems will be beneficial for me.”

"As a part of the Indonesian Student Society, I have helped plan the Indonesian Night Markets on campus. I'm in charge of the flash mob which requires me to come up with a dance performance for all the subcommittee members. It was such a fun experience! As of now, I'm also in charge of the mentoring program called Project Hero for first-year students."

What’s next for Angelica after choosing to study the lucrative field of Actuarial Studies at UNSW Business School? She’s keeping her options open as her degree is accredited by the Actuaries Institute of Australia and graduates of Actuarial Studies at UNSW are in high demand. She’s also developed a lot of valuable skills outside of the classroom employers are seeking.

With a bright future ahead, Angelica concludes “The fact that I’m going to be working in a field that I’m passionate about really excites me.”