CASTING A LINE FOR SUCCESS
At Bond University, when we ask our new students to imagine where they could be in five years’ time, we often hear some wild and way-out dreams. Even so, there aren’t too many who seriously believe they’ll be working with the likes of Hollywood mega-star Mel Gibson and Oscar-winning director, Steven Soderbergh.
But for 2005 film and television graduate, Rodrigo Urbano from Mexico, that’s exactly where his Bond degree has taken him – and in much less than five years.
Within a month of graduating from Bond and returning to Mexico City, Rodrigo had scored a plum job as Casting Assistant for Carla Hool Casting.
And before the year was out, he was giving Mel Gibson a hand, casting the Mayan-speaking roles for his blockbuster, Apocalypto.
Rodrigo came to Bond fresh out of high school and made his presence felt on campus as the first Latin and first film student elected to the Student Council. He also founded the Film and Television Student Society and served as President in its first year, earning a Res Council’s Community Service Award for his contributions to campus life.
Rodrigo chose Bond University due to the reputation of our Centre for Film, Television and Screen-Based Media and the fact that he could gain an internationally recognised university degree in just two years.
"In Mexico, the film schools award a certificate but it has no university or international industry recognition," he said.
"When I graduated in 2005, Bond’s Centre for Film, Television and Screen-Based Media was ranked as one of the top ten film schools in the world.
"Having a film degree from such a highly regarded institution, coupled with the fact that I’d studied overseas, really made a big difference when I started going to job interviews back home in Mexico."
Not that he would have gone for a lot of interviews: It took Rodrigo only two weeks to land a job with Carla Hool Casting and he was soon working with some of the biggest names in the business, casting Mexican and American feature film productions.
Two years after joining Carla Hool, the agency’s growth and success encouraged the opening of a Los Angeles branch; whereupon Rodrigo was promoted to Casting Associate and head of the Mexico office at just 24 years of age.
So far this year, he has worked with Oscar-winning director, Steven Soderbergh on his back-to-back Che Guevara biopics, Guerilla and The Argentine, as well as Disney’s South of the Border and Focus Features’ Sin Nombre.
If that’s what he can achieve in just two years out of uni, there’s no telling where Rodrigo will be in five years’ time.
I am very pleased to advise that the Federal Government has approved $3 million in funding (payable in 2010) towards the cost of our new building for the Bond University Mirvac School of Sustainable Development.
The decisions of what and where to study and how to finance a university degree are important ones – they affect future career direction, earning potential and quality of life. But with Australian students enjoying greater freedom and choice than ever before when it comes to selecting a higher education provider, making those decisions can be difficult.
Both the Bond University Mirvac School of Sustainable Development and the Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine have announced new programs to be offered from January 2008.
Year 10 and Year 11 Queensland students have until 5pm on 31 October to complete their application for the new 2008 RSL Youth Development Program that will benefit over 140 high achieving students.
The ASX Schools Sharemarket Game sponsored by Bond University has kicked-off again, with an estimated 40,000 high school students from around Australia expected to take part this year. 
Bond University invites all year 11 and 12 budding filmmakers to enter the Bond University Film and Television Awards (BUFTA).
It has been an eventful month for Bond University’s Faculty of Law, with the Faculty hosting two separate visits from distinguished practitioners as well as a Legal Profession networking evening to mark the opening of the new Legal Skills Centre.
This month has seen a book launch, an Education Awards Evening, Sports Presentation Dinner and two high profile appointments. If you know of a good success story, please email 
Bond Uni law student Andrew George has already spent five months in the sweltering tropical heat of Timor Leste, and he still has one month to go. He's part of the Australian Government response to help restore peace in that country.
