Fijian student Ashita Sami has spent much of her time at CQU helping others, and now she's landed a job in desktop support.

Ashita grew up in Fiji and started her CQU degree in Suva, before transferring to Rockhampton to build on her independence and to gain experience of a new country and lifestyle.

Arriving at the Capricornia College residential facility, she was grateful for the warm welcome, especially from staff member Kay Brodel.

"Kay was truly amazing and in no time I met other individuals, both local and international students who were also new to the place, and I built my network of friends," she said.

Ashita settled in well and soon become a student mentor to help first-year students.

More recently, she has taken on the role of international student liaison officer at the College and was also chosen as a College residential assistant.

"As the liaison officer, I have provided assistance to internationals on arrival and during the settling in process. I have also organised outings to various tourist spots," she said.

"The residential assistant role involved providing pastoral assistance".

Ashita found the extra roles helped to develop her interpersonal skills and she still found time to complete her IT degree.

"I was lucky to be considered for the IT Co-op program ... I applied and went through the whole interview process and was successful in being allocated the position offered by the company Parsons Brinckeroff".

Ashita has gained a job as desktop support officer in the IT division for Parson Brinckerhoff, which is a leading transport, infrastructure and environmental consultancy.

"I will be working in their Brisbane office and some of the key responsibilities associated with that role are addressing helpdesk issues, installing specialized software and troubleshooting issues for hardware and software".

Ashita's digilence at CQU has paid off, with induction into the Golden Key International Honor Society and an award of Mentor of the Year 2005 from the Faculty of Informatics and Communication.

She said the highlight of her time at CQU was life at the Capricornia College.

"One of the hardest things for me to do now is to leave that big family," she said.