Our guest In the Spotlight this time is Fiona Baxter (née Krins) who graduated from Donvale in 1994 after starting Year 1 in 1982. She’s married to Darren, also a 1994 Donvale graduate, and they have two children, Jakob (yr 9) and Amelia (yr 6), currently studying here.
Both sets of Fiona’s grandparents (Krins and Schat families) were original Founders of the school. Fiona studied Applied Science (Environmental Science), and has enjoyed a career in corporate sustainability, working for government, Myer, Coles, Simplot, Essity and now 7-Eleven.
She is a keen horse rider in her ‘spare’ time.
What gets you out of bed on a weekday?
All the pets wanting to be fed! (Horses, dogs, cat and letting the chooks out). Our before school and work day starts early.
What was your first paid job?
Stuffing envelopes for my Dad’s book importing company.
Thinking back to your years at Donvale, what do you know now that you wish you’d known then?
That you don’t need to know exactly what you want to study and ‘be’ when going into VCE – stick with the subjects that interest you and you are good at, and you can work it from there.
Who in the public eye would you most and least like to work with?
I would most like to work with an amazing horse trainer called Warwick Schiller, or the Irwin family, who are very savvy and have done great things for conservation. I would least like to work with anyone in politics.
What is the strangest situation you have been in at work?
My first day at Coles to lead Responsible Sourcing: they were on the front page of The Age regarding child labour in the prawn supply chain – it was a big, crazy day!
Who would you most like to be stuck in a lift with?
My husband.
What book are you reading at the moment?
An old favourite – The Thorn Birds
What was the last CD you bought – or album downloaded/streamed??
Berrara by Totty – I heard a song in a skate shop and loved the sound of it.
What song will always get you on the dance floor?
Cosmic Girl by Jamiroquai
Where is your favourite place in the world?
It is a tie between Hallstatt in Austria and the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji.
