ALUMNI & CAREERS

Term 3

ALUMNI NEWS

Class of 2022 Graduation Night

“It’s never too late to change your life!”

That was the message offered to the Class of 2022 by our alumni guest speaker, chiropractor Alan Clarence, at the Graduation Ceremony on Thursday night.

Alan attended Bell Park High School, one of our foundation schools, as part of the Class of 1982. Despite being a top student, he dropped out after Year 11 because he didn’t know what he wanted to do. He told this year’s graduates that his path after dropping out was a struggle that saw him facing bankruptcy and depression, becoming homeless, sleeping in his car and couch-surfing.

His life’s trajectory changed in just 10 minutes, during a game of golf, when his best friend urged him to take control of his life and turn things around. Ditching the game of golf, his friend introduced him to a person who would inspire him to change his life. Alan graduated from university at the age of 40; now he has three tertiary qualifications and is the company director of one of south-west Victoria’s largest allied health centres, Hamilton Spinal Sports and Wellbeing.

Alan’s story shows that it’s never too late to change your pathway if you’re struggling or unhappy with your life. He said that he was excited for the graduates who aren’t sure what they’d like to do next, who have endless possibilities ahead of them and many years to figure it out. He also said that failure was impossible, as long as they kept striving and learning.

At the end of the night, we presented Alan with a WHC graduation sash in recognition of his hard work since leaving school. We would like to thank Alan for his passionate, inspiring and uplifting speech, and for making the trip to join us all the way from Hamilton.

Congratulations to the Class of 2022 on your graduation. We warmly welcome you into the Alumni Program and look forward to staying connected for years to come.

Alan with his high school physics teacher Mr. Anawati

Save the Children CEO to visit WHC

The Legal Studies, Business Management and VCAL students were inspired today by alumni guest speaker Mat Tinkler, the CEO of Save the Children Australia.

Mat graduated from Western Heights College in 1996. He excelled academically in maths and science, and also loved playing footy for Bell Park. After graduating, he did a double degree in Law and Science at Monash University. As well as enjoying uni life, he was also able to knuckle down during exam time to achieve results that would open career opportunities.

Mat told our students that he chose to follow a legal career pathway because it kept his options open. He worked as a commercial lawyer and was the acting CEO of the Public Interest Law Clearing House, before an opportunity arose for him to try his hand at being a political advisor – eventually becoming the Chief of Staff to Bill Shorten MP. He enjoyed the fast pace of the political world and how he could make a real difference through initiatives like the NDIS and Gonski education funding reform.

After a few years in politics, Mat made another career jump to work in the public affairs arm of Save the Children Australia. Now as the charity’s CEO, Mat’s job takes him overseas to places like Papua New Guinea, Syria and Bangladesh to visit villages and refugee camps to meet people in need. He also travels to Canberra to advocate for these people’s human rights, for example, bringing Australians home from the refugee camp in Syria.

There were many takeaways from Mat’s talk, such as:

Keep your options open
You don’t need to have your entire career mapped out to succeed
Maintain a balance between studying hard, friends and a stress relief outlet (like sport)
Leaders don’t have to know all the answers. Build trust with your team. This applies to everything from football to running a large charity!

Thank you to Mat for making time to inspire our students. We’re so proud to see one of our past students making a positive difference in the world and it was great to hear some insightful questions from the students. Thank you also to student leaders, Amber Towart and Chloe Baldock, for taking our special guest on a school tour and presenting him with a gift at the end of the session.

Jennifer Chiu | Alumni Program Coordinator

Jennifer Chiu | Alumni Program Coordinator

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Want the best job ever?! Come Kick it with us at our Indoor Soccer Birthday parties!

Birthdays are all about having fun, and our Kick Academy Parties are exactly that. We’re the ultimate party destination, the perfect mix of edgy, elevated and street. Kick Academy offers an iconic experience like no other. We bring the bright lights, party music, jaw-dropping graphics and the Ronaldo-esque skills for an unforgettable birthday the kids will be raving about.

You’ll be joining a team that goes the extra mile in achieving the perfect customer experience and making every day the best day ever for the children who are having their parties at Kick Academy.

Must be available Friday nights and weekends.

To be successful in the role:

Be over 18 years old.
Be great with kids and enjoy working with children.
Be reliable and punctual
Have excellent communication skills
Be confident speaking in front of large crowds of people
Be friendly, patient, nurturing, energetic and enthusiastic
Must have or be eligible to obtain Working With Children’s Check
**Full training provided***

If you are confident, you can meet these requirements, please contact us today. Send your resume and cover letter to hello@kickacademy.com.au

We are also looking for enthusiastic Soccer Coaches to join our Kick Academy team for our street futsal under 9’s and under 11’s comps! Our Kick Academy competitions are different to anything else you’ve ever experienced. We’re all about leaving pressure at the door and encouraging a place of fun, creativity, and excitement!

The position will be for after-school ongoing coaching – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays, and rotating Thursdays.

Our comps are with children from the ages of 7 -12 years, so you must enjoy working with kids!

Key Requirements:

An enthusiastic, reliable, honest, and punctual attitude.
Playing or coaching experience is a must.
Must be able to work within a team environment.
Working With Children's Check / or willing to obtain.
Able to commit to set hours per week.
Confident in communicating with children aged 7-12.

What we offer:

A great team environment.
Opportunities for growth and career progression.

If you are confident, you can meet these requirements, please contact us today. Send your resume and cover letter to hello@kickacademy.com.au

Little Kickers provides fun and imagination-based soccer classes for children aged 18 months to 8 years of age for children in Geelong and surrounds.

Our imagination-based ethos is used to teach children the fundamental skills of the sports, whilst also improving their listening skills, colour recognition, social-interaction, and sense of well-being, along with number work and camaraderie.

We are looking for coaches who are reliable, organised, confident and great at interacting with young children and getting down to their level. You will need to have excellent communication skills and it is advantageous if you can entertain children through being bright, lively, and enthusiastic.

No previous high-level playing experience is required; however, a basic understanding of the sport is required and ability to perform basic skills essential.

Previous childcare and working with children experience will be an advantage, but full in-house training will be provided. Those studying teaching, early childhood studies or health sciences are encouraged to apply.

Working hours will range between 3-20 hours per week initially for the right candidate, on a casual basis, this may increase to 20+ for the right candidate over time. However, we strive to offer and keep coaches in the same classes every week and will be looking for coaches to commit to set hours on an ongoing basis. Being able to work weekends is a must.

Pay is at an hourly rate.

For applications to be considered, please email through a Resume and Cover Letter to geelong@littlekickers.com.au

Part time position vacant at BP Bell Park - 133 - 135 Ballarat Road Bell Park

The role is for a driveway attendant / workshop hand.