ECU marketing lecturer and researcher Dr Melissa Fong-Emmerson (centre left) with ECU students turned Brownes Dairy employees (L-R) Samantha Fischer, Ciara Wood and Lauren Warnock. Image credit: Dr Melissa Fong-Emmerson.
In 2024, two budding Edith Cowan University (ECU) marketing students sat in on a presentation delivered by the Brownes Dairy marketing team, as part of an industry collaboration.
Two years later, those two students returned to the very same room as Brownes Dairy marketing employees, to deliver a presentation of their own to a fresh batch of ECU students.
Presenting to ECU students as Brownes employees was a full-circle moment for ECU graduate Lauren Warnock, and current student Ciara Wood.
They are two of three Bachelor of Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations students at ECU who have been hired by Brownes Dairy over the past two years.
The third, Samantha Fischer, was hired in 2024 as a junior brand manager. Fischer has since moved to a key account executive role in sales, paving the way for Warnock and Wood to follow in her footsteps, gaining experience across different functions.
Their journey from ECU into the workforce is a shared one that highlights a flourishing industry partnership between the two iconic WA institutions.
ECU students 'rose to the top' thanks to industry exposure
ECU first established its industry partnership with Brownes Dairy in 2024; engaged with the School of Business and Law (SBL), Brownes Dairy has delivered presentations from leaders in marketing and sustainability, provided authentic industry-based assessments and site tours of Brownes facilities to students.
For Fischer, Warnock and Wood, the application process for Brownes roles was as rigorous as any other in the competitive world of marketing - but all three ECU students stood out among applicants from universities across WA to secure their respective positions.
"When recruiting, we have a mini assessment centre, where all candidates are assessed at the same time," explained Brownes Dairy Head of Marketing Nicole Ohm.
"They present in front of each other; it's a bit of a lion's den. And within those environments, these ECU students rose to the top. So all credit to whatever's going on there in terms of preparing students to interview well."
Since its inception, ECU SBL marketing lecturer and researcher Dr Melissa Fong-Emmerson has overseen Brownes' partnership with ECU through the marketing strategy unit that has helped three of her students seal employment within the company.
Dr Fong-Emmerson says the partnership shows how genuine industry engagement can create organic pathways from the classroom to employment.
"In just two years, Brownes has hired three of our students. They have a marketing team of around 10 people, and three of them are now from ECU. I think that's pretty special," Dr Fong-Emmerson said.
"For me, it shows what can happen when industry gets to work closely with our students and actually see what they can do. Once Brownes saw the quality and calibre of our students, including students who haven't even graduated yet, it gave them the confidence to keep looking to ECU for talent.
"But the students got those jobs themselves. They performed, they worked hard and they showed that they were the right fit for the team. You can teach a lot of the technical skills, but things like attitude, resilience, persistence and being willing to learn really matter.
"That's what I love about this partnership. It's created this really organic pathway from the classroom into industry. Students get to work with a real industry partner and show what they can do, and when they shine, sometimes those opportunities just happen naturally.
Ciara Wood and Lauren Warnock delivering a presentation to ECU students at the Brownes Dairy facility. Image credit: Dr Melissa Fong-Emmerson.
Resilience and persistence were both key to Ciara Wood becoming one of the three ECU students hired by Brownes Dairy in the space of two years.
Wood is yet to graduate from ECU but that didn't stop her from applying for, and ultimately landing, a junior brand manager role within the Brownes Dairy Marketing team.
Sitting in on former ECU student Fischer's presentation at Brownes Dairy was what gave Wood a clear vision for her future in marketing for the first time.
"The (Brownes) site tour was quite special; it was a standout in my degree," Wood said. "Hearing Sam (Fischer) talk, it was my first time seeing someone who had my degree out in the real world - and doing really well. It was validating to know I was in the right field."
Three months after Wood joined the Brownes Dairy team, Lauren Warnock was hired.
Not long after, the two former ECU classmates were presenting together in front of another wave of ECU students – just as Fischer had done for them in 2024.
"It feels very surreal," Warnock said.
"The partnership made the idea of working at Brownes feel much more achievable. Seeing that Sam had studied the same course as me only a year earlier showed me that there was a real pathway from university into the industry.
"It would be great if Ciara and I could now inspire students in the same way Sam inspired us. There is something really motivating about seeing someone who studied the same course as you successfully make the transition into the industry.
"I think partnerships with real businesses, particularly well-known WA brands like Brownes, give students the opportunity to connect what they are learning at university with how marketing works in the real world. They allow students to make genuine industry connections, gain exposure to different career pathways and build confidence interacting with professionals.
"For me, being able to visit Brownes, meet the team and present our ideas made the possibility of working for a brand like Brownes feel much more achievable. These partnerships can turn something that feels quite distant as a university student into a genuine career opportunity."
ECU's industry partnership with Brownes Dairy is set to continue in 2027, with the WA brand returning as part of the marketing strategy capstone unit.
Ohm said there's a special reciprocal nature to the partnership that the iconic WA brand is proud to be part of.
"There is a lovely circularity around WA companies working with WA students and keeping talent in Western Australia… it's really important for WA to keep WA talent in this state.
"We're really proud of the collaboration and what it's grown into."
