Despite some changes of direction along the way, Lennox Hemingway says he finally found his place at Macquarie, graduating in 2023 with a Bachelor of Mathematical Science and Bachelor of Economics.
Winning combination: Graduate Lennox Hemingway, pictured, took advantage of many job-preparation opportunities while at Macquarie University before landing his finance role at Macquarie Group.
“I didn't finish high school and I needed a pathway into university, and Macquarie was the only one that offered that flexible opportunity for me,” Lennox says.
Lennox enrolled in the six-month Foundation Program, which gave him access to the Bachelor of Actuarial Studies. After two years, he transferred to a Bachelor of Mathematical Science and Bachelor of Economics degree.
“It was very flexible and easy and didn’t add extra time onto the process, which was great,” he says.
A taste of work and travel
Doing a double degree gave Lennox the opportunity to take part in two PACE (Professional and Community Engagement) projects. The award-winning PACE program provides students with the opportunity to combine their studies with authentic work experience.
“The first PACE project was for my Bachelor of Economics, which focused on house prices and some of the drivers behind that within Australia,” Lennox says.
“We had industry speakers come in to explain their perspective on the house prices, and what they thought was driving it, which helped inform what our project was going to be about.
“For the second PACE project I got involved with a small financial research firm and the project focused on predicting pricing on index futures, which allowed me to apply some of the practical skills I'd learned, and to blend the two degrees.”
Another highlight of his time at Macquarie was enrolling in two short-term student exchanges in Denmark and China. For each exchange Lennox undertook a subject that had been condensed into a two-week intensive course.
“Macquarie University supported me to do that, and I received a travel grant. I was also able to add on $7000 of financial support from the government and add that to my HECS because I was doing an overseas exchange,” he explains.
Lennox says that the combination of the PACE programs, an internship and cadetship all helped shape the experience at Macquarie and, in turn, led to his current role at Macquarie Group.
“In my first year of university I did some part-time work as a research and administration intern at a small boutique firm. It was great to develop some of those professional soft skills that a lot of students wouldn't get the opportunity to gain until later in their degree.
“In my second year I was accepted into a cadetship program with Ernst & Young, which I heard about through Macquarie’s Career and Employment Service. I switched to part-time study and worked four days a week for EY during the semester,” Lennox says.
In his current role as an Associate at Macquarie Group, Lennox works in a risk team looking at capital and aggregate risk, which takes a broader lens across all risk types.
“I think having secured the cadetship prior to actually getting my first job helped me hit the ground running and really feel like a valued team member,” he says.
My Macquarie Life
Degrees: Bachelor of Mathematical Science and Bachelor of Economics. Graduated 2023.
My job: Associate at Macquarie Group
Three ways MQ supported me to be job-ready:
1. Practical skills. “The coding skills I picked up in my courses are skills I have directly used in the work that I do. So many people who didn’t have that exposure at university had to learn on the job.”
2. Critical thinking. “Although critical thinking is not necessarily a taught skill, it is a learning outcome of most of the units you take.”
3. Problem-solving. “Being able to break a problem down into components and then logically address each one to come up with a solution is one of the big ones. And that's something as a university student you can learn and apply in your work.”
Advice to prospective students:
“Say yes to as many opportunities as you can; you don’t know where they will lead and what doors will open. Bring your authentic self to each one of these situations because that diversity adds a lot of value in every single environment.”
Find out more about the Macquarie Bank Graduate Program
