ALUMNI NEWS
Tanja Dunat Timms
Ourschool Alumni Program Manager
Careers that Care
Last term saw an exciting new initiative in the development of our Alumni Program. We banded together with some of the fellow Ourschool alumni programs in the Geelong region and harnessed our collective alumni networks to bring a special opportunity to life for our students.
Alumni, students and staff from five Geelong schools – Belmont High School, Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College, Newcomb Secondary College, North Geelong Secondary College and Western Heights College – came together for the ‘Careers that Care’ alumni Q&A session on Friday.
A group of students from North Geelong Secondary College joined other Year 10 and 11 students from around Geelong to hear from past students who work in roles that care for others:
- Jessie Christiaans, Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College Class of 2014, Occupational Therapist and Business Owner
- Cassie Balazs, North Geelong Secondary College Class of 2004, early Psychosis Clinician
- Gab Pappalardo, Newcomb Secondary College Class of 2008, TAC Manager
- Campbell Buchanan-Huhn, Belmont High School Class of 2014, Teacher
- Nicole Scott, Western Heights College Class of 2013, Mental Health Youth Worker.
Each panelist spoke about their career journeys, school days, what inspired them to follow their pathways, benefits and challenges of their jobs, and more. Students could also ask their own questions towards the end of the session.
Some of the key memorable phrases from the day included: “have fun, enjoy what you do”, “create your own luck with hard work and determination”, “you’re enough and you are loved” and “chase what lights you up”.
Thank you to our alumni speakers for their great advice, Newcomb Secondary College for hosting us and providing lunch, and our school staff and leaders for supporting this initiative for our students.
