Where are they now?

I graduated from Cecil Hills High School in 2007 and since that time have been busy doing undergraduate and postgraduate study and working full-time in a Federal Government position.

(Mihajla Gavin, 2017)

Upon finishing high school I wasn’t 100% sure of which areas I wanted to specialise in but through studying a Bachelor of Commerce (Liberal Studies) at the University of Sydney I was able to enjoy a very diverse experience across a range of subject areas. A common day at uni would have included anything from human resource management and business law to gender politics, English literature, film studies, psychology and Renaissance art.

(Mihajla Gavin, School Captain 2007)

I learnt through my time at Cecil Hills that I enjoyed business and economics, particularly the people side of these areas. From this I undertook majors in Management and Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management. I eventually completed an Honours thesis with First Class Honours and was awarded the University Medal. During my studies I also worked part-time in the industrial relations department of a large agribusiness and was President of the university’s student society for industrial relations.

After graduating university in 2012 I was lucky to secure a graduate position in Australia’s leading government agency for industrial and employment relations and have undertaken a diverse range of roles including workplace relations advice, research and investigation.

In 2015 I went back to the University of Sydney to pursue a PhD degree in the area of trade union strategy and teachers’ working conditions in public education. The PhD experience has been so interesting and rewarding. Whilst studying I have performed a range of research assistant and tutoring roles, presented my research at conferences across Australia and internationally, and most recently returned from an exchange to Sweden to learn more about the Swedish education system.

My time at Cecil Hills really taught me to embrace opportunities as they come along, go outside your comfort zone once in a while and push beyond your boundaries.

Thanks Mihajla for your contribution to our school newsletter.

We welcome contributions from ex-students in our

"Where are they now" segment.

Please contact us at

cecilhills-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

or 9822-1430

We would love to hear from you!