Alumni Stories
Grads 2026: Ebony Gagel
When Ebony Gagel first walked through the University of Canberra's Open Day in 2021, she was a Year 12 student with a cake business, a love of learning and no clear idea what came next.
Now, she's graduating with a Bachelor of Business (Entrepreneurship and Innovation), nearly 580,000 TikTok followers, international study experiences across the globe, a full-time marketing career and a thriving business built from a dream she started as a teenager.
But her story didn't begin with grand plans. It began with cupcakes. While many of her classmates were deciding what they wanted to do after school, Ebony was already running her own business, Ebony May Bakes.
At just 15, she spent her weekends at markets and delivering orders around Queanbeyan – and developing a love for the business world.
Like many school-leavers, Ebony wasn't entirely sure what degree might be right for her. At first, she considered nutrition. "I had a cake business and I was like, what could I study that is most related to cooking and baking?" she says.
But after some reflection and conversations at UC Open Day, she realised the answer had been there all along.
"I remember seeing the Bachelor of Business and talking about entrepreneurship, and I'm like, that sounds like a bit of me," Ebony says.
What followed was a university experience that became deeply intertwined with her business, her creativity and her future career.
Unlike many students who rely on hypothetical case studies, Ebony used her own business as the foundation for much of her coursework.
"I was able to do all my assignments on an actual business," she says.
“I made a whole marketing plan and was able to ask teachers about things that could help my business. It was a very motivating environment at UC, and my business has definitely grown from studying this degree.”
For Ebony, university didn't replace the things she loved. Instead, it helped her build on them. The confidence she gained from studying business helped transform what started as teenage instinct into a business backed by informed decision-making.
"I really enjoyed doing this degree because I feel like it's allowed me to back up what I was already doing in my small business, with actual strategies and stats," she says.
At the same time, another passion was beginning to grow. When she commenced university, Ebony had around 20,000 followers on TikTok. She began documenting her life as a small business owner and student, sharing everything from cake decorating and study sessions to travel adventures and career milestones.
She laughs, remembering one of her first university experiences.
"After my very first lecture, this girl came up to me and was like, 'Oh my god, I've seen you on my TikTok For You page'," she says.
Today, her TikTok audience sits at well over half a million followers, many of whom have watched her university journey unfold in real time.
"I've taken my followers on every single journey. I remember I did a ‘get ready with me’. I was like, 'Guys, it's my first day of uni. I'm so nervous'," Ebony says.
Now, after documenting every step of her university journey for hundreds of thousands of followers, graduation feels like a full circle moment.
When Ebony started at UC, building an online audience was the furthest thing from her mind.
“I wasn’t into social media when I first started my degree. I had my TikTok account, but I didn’t really know what I was doing,” she says.
As her studies progressed, so did her confidence behind the camera. Ebony credits several marketing and film production units with helping her develop the technical and creative skills that would later become central to her content.
“The film course was one of my favourites because it was so different from my business degree, which is all about numbers and economics. It gave me that opportunity to develop a creative side as well,” she says.
The skills she built at university soon opened another unexpected door. In 2023, Ebony joined UC's social media team, bringing with her the content creation experience she had developed over the years. Initially unsure whether she was qualified enough to apply, she ultimately decided to back herself.
“I was like, I’ll just try. I have so many different ideas for content, so it’s been really cool to apply that in this job,” she says.
The role gave her the opportunity to combine her lived experience as a creator with professional marketing work, while becoming more involved in university life.
"I've worked three UC Open Days now, and I love it every time," she says.
Despite her social media presence, Ebony describes herself as naturally shy and introverted, and finding a sense of connection wasn't always easy.
"When I first started uni, I found it challenging to make friends," she says.
Rather than letting that hold her back, Ebony pushed herself to get involved, taking up opportunities arising through work, campus activities and experiences outside the classroom. It's a lesson she now shares with future students:
"The more you put in, the more you get out of your degree and university."
Perhaps nowhere was that philosophy more evident than in her international experiences. Before she even enrolled at UC, Ebony knew she wanted to study overseas; when she attended Open Day in 2021, she headed straight for the Global Learning stand.
"I was like, 'Where can I go? What can I do?'" she says.
She would eventually complete two overseas experiences through UC, including an international business study tour to Bhutan and a semester-long exchange at the University of Hertfordshire in England.
The experiences introduced her to new cultures and perspectives and she built lifelong friendships. For a student who had rarely travelled growing up, the opportunity was transformative.
"It just really opened my mind," she says.
By the time she walked across the graduation stage, Ebony had already launched the next chapter of her career, securing a full-time marketing role at Luxe & Beau, a textile design house and luxury lifestyle brand.
Her journey with the company began while studying, spending her time in the warehouse, packing orders. When the business’ marketing employee left, an unexpected opportunity arose.
“At first, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I have no experience.’ But then I thought, ‘Wait, I’ve got a degree. I’ve learned the foundations of marketing. I can go back and look at my notes if I’m stuck. I’ve worked in the UC social media team!’,” she says.
Today, she balances her marketing career alongside her business and content creation. Most recently, she travelled to France to help shoot a campaign for Luxe & Beau.
Looking back, Ebony credits her degree with giving her the confidence to say yes to opportunities she once might have doubted she was ready for.
“Having that knowledge from my degree has been so helpful stepping into a full-time role. Otherwise, I would be so lost,” she says. “It’s given me a lot of confidence.”
That confidence, however, may be the least remarkable part of her story. What stands out most is her refusal to fit into a single box. Throughout her degree, Ebony was never just a student – she was also an entrepreneur and business owner, storyteller and content creator, and the traveller she always wanted to be.
"A good lesson I've learned from uni is that I don't have to just be a student. I can be a multitude of things," she says.
As she graduates from UC, that's perhaps the message at the centre of her journey: There is no single path to success.
You can build a business while studying. You can travel while earning a degree. You can pursue creativity alongside practical skills. You can chase opportunities before you feel completely ready.
And if Ebony's story proves anything, it's that sometimes the most extraordinary journeys begin with something as simple as delivering cupcake boxes around Queanbeyan.
Words by Shannon Green, photos by Teagan Glenane.