Alumni Visit 

Business Management

Our Year 12 Business Management students welcomed back three alumni recently as part of their current studies in Operational Management.

Riley Davie (Class of 2012), Division Manager - Ticketing & Commercial Operations at the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Ashley Burt (Class of 1993), Southern Operations Manager at CHS Broadbent and Andrew Ward (Class of 1989), former General Manager of Retail Operations at PETstock, shared their journeys from school to leadership roles within large organisations.

The panel explored the realities of working within major organisations, including organisational structures, achieving efficiency, forecasting, rapid growth, weather and time-dependent operations and working alongside government entities. Students gained valuable insight into how large-scale operations come together to achieve a successful outcome.

All three spoke proudly of their time at Ballarat High School, with Ashley reflecting on being part of a third generation of BHS graduates. We thank Riley, Ashley and Andrew for giving back to the next generation and sharing their experiences with our students.

Leadership Students

Our Year 10 Leadership students were keen to hear from an alumnus in the field of environment and sustainability. Natalie Evans (Class of 2000) generously returned recently to chat to them about her passion for animals and the environment, which has taken her around the world.

Not always a lover of school, Nat shared how her love of animals turned into a pathway she never thought possible. From working at Australia Zoo alongside Steve Irwin, her journey has included research projects in Botswana studying cheetah populations, conservation work with endangered species and now working with elephants at Werribee Zoo while completing her Masters of Secondary Teaching.

Nat spoke about the importance of protecting endangered koalas, the issues with habitat corridors and how we can “green up” spaces to support threatened species. She also shared some of the conservation projects Zoos Victoria are currently working on including the Helmeted Honeyeater, Orange-bellied Parrot and Mountain Pygmy Possum programs.

Despite never thinking maths would play a role in her future, Nat went on to become a High Distinction student in Advanced Statistics at university. She now hopes to become a secondary teacher and inspire students the same way influential teachers inspired her.

Her biggest message to students was to embrace the journey rather than focus only on the destination. We thank Nat for returning to Ballarat High School to inspire our future leaders and environmental changemakers.

Get in touch if you’re a former student and want to be a part of our program alumni@ballaraths.net 

Eliza Hopkinson

Alumni Coordinator