“Being creative means doing anything and everything that my heart desires with the goal of making or experiencing something that I haven’t ever before.”
For Patricia Angela Mercado, a Master’s student studying Media and Communications at Flinders University, pursuing a creative career has been a journey of patience and growth.
Growing up in Dubai, she first moved away from home to complete a Bachelor’s degree in Multimedia Arts in the Philippines. Two years ago, she made an even bigger move to pursue her Master’s here in Australia.
Learning to Love Art
Although her qualifications say otherwise, Patricia Angela wasn’t always interested in art. It wasn’t until her later years of high school where she really developed an appreciation for her creative practice.
“At first I found art to be really boring,” she said, “just because I wasn’t good at it. But I learned to fight that feeling and just go with the flow.
Keeping an open mind and reminding herself that practice is key have helped Patricia Angela to grow and develop her art, even while learning on the go. When moving to the Philippines, she had to transition her skills from the traditional art techniques she was used to, to learning all new digital art techniques for her course. This was a bit of a struggle while also trying to keep up with classwork.
“Most of the students [in my classes] already had a good knowledge of things like the Adobe Creative Suite, whereas I was kind of new to that. So I just had to learn that going along.”
Although creating art is where her true passion lies, Patricia Angela said that the amount of academic papers she has had to write during her time at Flinders, while somewhat daunting at first, have really helped drive her motivation in her studies.
“I like writing, I’m a very creative person, so having that academia factor is really interesting. It’s also not subjective like art itself is,” she explained.
For Patricia Angela, Flinders plays a big part in unleashing the creativity that she needs for both written assessments and creative projects.
“They provide us with beautiful and innovative learning spaces with professors that allow us to think outside the box and explore, nurturing our thoughts and most importantly, encouraging our curiosity.”
Choosing Adelaide and Flinders University
When deciding on where to undertake her Master’s, Patricia Angela started looking at Adelaide specifically because she had an uncle living close by, something that made the transition to Australia – a place she’d never been before – a whole lot easier.
“I know a lot of international students don’t have that, so I’m really blessed with that opportunity as well, and that chance to have family here.”
In choosing Flinders University specifically as her place of study, she said it was the idea of a campus set in nature that really made up her mind.
“In comparison to my college in the Philippines which was just a building, I just really liked the campus here. It’s big, it’s in nature which I really like,” she said.
Patricia Angela is also a big fan of the unofficial Flinders mascot.
“I’ve also seen a lot of ducks,” she added. “On my walks to class, it’s just really refreshing to sit and watch them graze.”
The Flinders Experience
“The international student experience at Flinders feels really familiar to me,” Patricia Angela says. “Because there are countless international students on similar journeys.”
She has met some of her best friends through Flinders, as well as her partner.
“It was really nice just connecting with those friends of mine. They’ve moved home now, but it’s still great to see them when they visit. There are a lot of really warm faces that you get to meet at Flinders.”
Aside from her peers, she has also made connections with her professors, who have been invaluable in helping her navigate the international student experience.
“I actually had a professor that I connected with the most, her name is Lisa,” she said. “She really opened me up to being more comfortable coming into class, all because of a toy that I had on my laptop. It was really nice connecting with her and learning with her as well.”
“She’s seen me stress in a lot of situations and helped me align myself and just focus on my academics.”
Being a StudyAdelaide Ambassador
When first starting her Master’s, Patricia Angela connected with StudyAdelaide Ambassadors, and found their experience and advice really helpful. So, when she had the opportunity to apply to become one herself, she jumped at the opportunity.
“It’s been a lot of connecting with international students and hearing their stories and how they got here. Just really welcoming them to the University and presenting Adelaide to them as a one-of-a-kind experience.”
Following her Creative Direction
Once she wraps up her studies at Flinders, Patricia Angela says her plan is to stay in Australia, pursuing her dream of becoming an art director.
“I definitely want to go into art direction in the creative industry because I like the aspect of just branding and design as well,” she shares. “I know it’s a very competitive industry, like most industries are, but since art is very subjective and digital media as well, I just have to work on building my portfolio after I graduate!”