Charlotte Brown

About me

Hi! I'm Charlotte, and I spent most of my time growing up in Christchurch and Queenstown. Science was always something I was really passionate about at school, so I started university doing First Year Health Sciences. After completing the year though, I realised it wasn't quite the right fit and took a leap into Finance instead, originally with a minor in Politics, which I later swapped for Marketing. I know how overwhelming it can feel trying to choose a degree when you don't really know what your options are, which is exactly why I wanted to do this. I'm here to remind you that it's completely okay not to have it figured out straight away, and to help give you the information you need to make a decision that's right for you, even if that decision changes along the way (like mine did!).

My uni experience

The finance side of my degree is pretty demanding. I've only had to do three papers per semester due to completing HSFY and having one major, which has made the workload slightly more manageable and given me extra time to pick up part-time work. The marketing side is slightly less demanding but requires a lot of group work. I was in Cumberland College in first year. I absolutely loved the people, and the hall felt like the perfect size: big but not cliquey. The food was okay, and catering tends to be fairly similar across halls unless you're at a more private hall like Selwyn or Knox. Each hall has its own vibe that suits different people, and I have a pretty good idea of what each one is like, so I'm happy to run you through them. I'm a super social person and have loved that aspect of university. Something you'll find about Otago is that yes, it's very social and fun, but everyone locks in when they need to. Something that's really helped me is the people I've surrounded myself with. We love to have a fun weekend, but we all make sure to work just as hard during the week. To me, university is all about personal growth away from home, finding balance, and meeting some awesome people.

Hobbies

I'm currently Treasurer for the Women in Business Club. I've also worked part-time in various jobs since second year. I grew up as a competitive dancer, which I sadly do less of now, but Otago does have a great dance club if that's something you're interested in!