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Kara Southwood

I never considered teaching while at High School, as I was pursuing a career as a classically trained ballet dancer. I was always interested in Science and did well in Biology, which led me to complete a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and Ecotourism. Finding it difficult to secure work in these fields, I…

Nyree Hatzimihail

When I was in Year 10 at boarding school, I described my exact job I have now to my friends. I remember it so vividly. I would be working at a school but not teaching, I would be helping young people with advice and insights on their future options, and I would have a lot…

Ebony McGrady

I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life after I finished high school. I worked odd jobs from IGA to stacking pallets for distribution at Big W. At 20 years old, I worked at a small-town farm that produced, packaged and sold potatoes to markets in Brisbane. I worked my way…

Donna Stace

From a young age, I knew I wanted to pursue a trade. I entered the resources industry straight out of school and earned my Mechanical Trade qualifications four years later. My career has taken me across oil and gas, construction, building maintenance, mining, and rail – both in Australia and overseas. Often the only woman…

Emily Wilson

When I was in high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I had always found maths and science came most naturally to me and were the most interesting subjects. My grandfather, father, and uncle had all worked as blue-collar construction workers when I was growing up, so I had some…

Kassi Picken

Some people know exactly what they want to do after school – some don’t. I thought I did, starting a Bachelor of Business in Marketing and Management, but soon discovered my passion lay in project management. While working in estate management, I gained experience in sales strategies, budget management, estate maintenance, and civil construction. I…

Kerryn Byrom

I’m passionate about creating meaningful work that leaves a lasting impact. I’m driven by purpose and love being part of projects that make a real difference—whether that’s for individuals, communities, or organisations. I believe that when our work has value, it motivates us to go further and achieve more. A positive team culture is at…

Marlee Wendt

I never knew exactly what profession I wanted to be but I knew I was good at reading, writing and talking. So I followed this and initially went to university to study Journalism. I quickly realised being a journalist wasn’t for me, but fortunately, a teacher pointed me towards Public Relations and Communications. My first…

Paula Douglas

Growing up in regional Queensland, I didn’t always have a clear idea of what I wanted to do with my future. It felt uncertain – like a blank page. But over time, I realised that not knowing gave me the freedom to explore, to dream big, and to figure out what truly inspired me. When…

Sharnte Butler

I had wanted to become a firefighter since I was a child! At the age of 17, I knocked on the door of the local fire station. This station was auxiliary firefighters (on call in small communities), and I was told that I was too young! With that in mind, I found a fulltime management…

Nina Nguyen

When I was in grade 7, I knew I was going to be a lawyer. Initially I thought I would become a divorce lawyer. But I quickly knew I wanted to do more than just be in a court room and argue about cases theoretically. While it took me a while to navigate towards the…

Fei Fei Wang

Coming out of high school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. So I enrolled in a bachelor of commerce, majoring in actuarial studies. Later in university, I discovered a passion for econometrics—the use of statistics and data to understand and predict economic trends. I went on to complete honours and a master’s in…

Pooja Arora

I’ve always believed that when you take care of people, success follows naturally. As a child, I dreamed of becoming a teacher, tutoring kids who couldn’t afford lessons. Science fascinated me, leading me to a master’s in software engineering while keeping my passion for dance alive. Excelling academically, I secured top placements. After moving to…

Marlene Alaiach

In high school, I had no idea what I wanted to study. I picked Applied Science from a uni course guide, hoping to become a doctor. After two years at Griffith University, I realised a Bachelor of Applied Science wasn’t for me. With my Grandad and Dad both builders, and my older brother studying Civil…

Caitlin Damiani

From a young age, I’ve been very creative and thought outside the box. I have a love for math, but creativity always prevailed. The majority of my classes throughout school reflected that. When it came time to choose a university path, I selected architecture. It allowed me to be creative while also giving me the…

Rebecca Azzopardi

Growing up, I didn’t really know what I wanted to be. It wasn’t until my school’s career advisor recommended looking into Chemical Engineering (when I was in Year 12) that I considered becoming an engineer – up until that point, I thought all engineers built roads and cars, which I wasn’t super interested in. Not…

Rose Pedler

I was living in Queensland from 12 years old and completed my Cert 3 in Business Administration straight out of high school because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I also knew that university wasn’t for me as I struggled to study and complete assignments. I now know that I am ADHD. After…

Lauren Blackwell

At school, I enjoyed lots of different subjects, and my favourites were Maths C (specialist), Chemistry and Drama. I thought I would be a doctor or a biomedical scientist but ended up applying for a double degree in Engineering and Science. After school, I took a gap year to work as a teacher aide, which…

Aleksandra Edwards

Growing up, I was forever changing my mind about what I wanted to be when I grew up – an accountant, a journalist, a lawyer…I still wasn’t sure by the time I graduated year 12, but I was accepted into uni and started a Biomedical Science degree. Tertiary-level science wasn’t for me, so I switched…

Angela Gu

I had no idea what I wanted to do when I left school. I was good at maths and science but didn’t know if I necessarily wanted to work in that area. I felt like I wanted to explore my options and see what happened. I started studying human biology and chemistry in university but…