Taking the First Bite: Turning Uncertainty into Opportunity
Embracing your UNIqueness: a student article series.
Published on the 01 July 2026 by UNSW Business School EDI Team
2025 – 2026 Women in Business Ambassador Jeeviha Sangar, a UNSW Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Economics student, shares how stepping beyond her comfort zone has shaped her university experience and future career.
For any readers in the room, Sylvia Plath’s *The Bell Jar* introduces the idea of the fig tree. In the novel, the protagonist, Esther, imagines herself sitting beneath a fig tree, looking up at all the different lives she could choose. Each fig represents a different future, and she wants them all. But the thought of choosing one means losing the others. Paralysed by indecision, she watches as the figs wither, turn black, and fall to the ground.
That feeling of hesitation, of not knowing which choice is the “right” one, is something I think many students experience. My journey at UNSW has, in many ways, mirrored Esther’s fig tree. But unlike Esther’s fig tree, UNSW has not made uncertainty feel like something to fear. Instead, it has complemented that uncertainty with opportunity.
My name is Jeeviha, and I am a fourth-year Economics and Commerce student, majoring in Macroeconomics, Financial Markets and Finance.
Like many students, my life in high school was largely structured around the HSC, academic performance, and the extracurricular activities I was involved in at the time. There was so much focus on achieving the next milestone that there was often very little space to properly think about who I wanted to become, or what kind of impact I wanted to have after graduation.
Even though I moved into a university degree that genuinely interested me, I still carried that same uncertainty with me. The more involved I became in my education, the more I found myself overwhelmed by possibility. I was afraid of making the wrong choice, choosing the wrong career path, or, in the language of the fig tree, choosing the wrong fig.
But at some point, I became more frustrated by my own indecision than by the possibility of making the wrong choice. That frustration pushed me to change my immediate circumstances and take the first available step, even if I did not yet know exactly where it would lead.
What attracted me to UNSW, aside from the ability to pursue my specific degree combination, was the breadth of opportunity available beyond the classroom.
I began putting my hand up for roles that challenged me in different ways, from serving as Careers Director of the UNSW Forex Association to Arc Delegate and Grievance Officer for the UNSW Commerce International Society. Through these roles, I developed a deeper passion for leadership, advocacy, communication, and creating spaces where students feel supported, informed, and confident enough to pursue opportunities themselves.
They helped me realise that career progression is not only shaped by what we study, but also by the communities we contribute to and the people we learn alongside.
I have also had the great pleasure of serving as a Women in Business Ambassador for the UNSW Business School over the past year, and I believe this has been one of the greatest drivers of my motivations today.
For those who may not be familiar, WIBA champions gender equity across disciplines where women have historically been underrepresented, including Finance, Economics, Information Systems and Actuarial Studies. In this role, I have had the opportunity to work alongside incredible women, industry partners and future leaders through outreach, mentoring and advocacy.
Whether through connecting with high school students, supporting events such as Girls in Business Camp, or sharing our own journeys with prospective students, the role has shown me the importance of visibility. It has reminded me that sometimes, seeing someone who looks like you, speaks like you, or has faced similar uncertainty can make a future pathway feel far more possible.
My main motivation behind this position has always been to empower young women to expand their understanding of potential career paths and to feel confident pursuing their ambitions, particularly in spaces where they may not have always seen themselves represented.
Early last year, I helped run an Empower Her event, where I spent time speaking with a high school student named Theresea. I was answering her questions, talking her through university, and sharing the kind of guidance that someone once gave to me.
The title of the event perfectly captures its purpose. Empower Her is designed to spark curiosity, build confidence, and open doors to careers in traditionally male-dominated fields. Earlier this year, at Open Day, Theresea came and found me.
She told me she had written about that event in her UNSW application, and that she had received an unconditional offer. That moment has stayed with me. It reminded me that the work we do as ambassadors is not just about representing the Business School.
It is about making opportunity feel tangible for someone else. It is about helping students imagine themselves in places they may have previously thought were out of reach. It is about providing another tangible fig on this tree.
In many ways, I was able to transform my own paralysis into purpose. Through my roles at UNSW, I found a passion for creating long-term social impact, whether that is by supporting students, promoting gender equity, or helping others see the value of their own potential.
That same motivation now informs my career direction.
Alongside my ambassador role, I currently work as an analyst for an infrastructure company, contributing to work that supports the development of more sustainable and socially conscious infrastructure. For me, this has created a clear link between my studies, my extracurricular involvement, and the kind of career I hope to build: one that combines finance, economics and long-term social impact.
We often think that choosing one thing means closing the door on everything else. In economics, we understand this as opportunity cost: every decision involves something we give up. But what my experiences at UNSW have taught me is that choices are not always as restrictive as they seem. Sometimes, a choice gives us clarity.
Sometimes, it simply teaches us what we do not want. And sometimes, it opens doors we did not even know existed. UNSW has taught me that uncertainty is not necessarily a weakness. It can be a starting point. It can push us to explore, to contribute, to lead, and to grow into versions of ourselves we could not have planned from the beginning.
So, if I were to return to the image of the fig tree, I no longer see each fig as a future I risk losing. I see each one as an opportunity to learn something, to take a step forward, and to better understand the kind of person and professional I want to become. And perhaps the greatest lesson UNSW has given me so far is that progress does not always come from knowing exactly which fig to choose.
Sometimes, it simply begins with having the courage to take the first bite.