CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES
EDUCATION
TOM SMITH
Primary Education / Master of Education
Tom is a primary school classroom teacher with over 7 years experience working for the NSW Department of Education in a number of primary schools across New South Wales, including Cooma, Berridale, Jerrabomberra, and currently, Sydney.
In 2019, Tom was awarded a scholarship by the Department of Education to pursue a Master of Education at the University of Canberra, and was honoured with an Excellence in Education award by the Hon. John Barilaro MP for his dedication to teaching at Jerrabomberra Public School.
Currently, Tom is a primary school teacher in the Inner West of Sydney.
| Best suited to This opportunity is best suited to a student studying primary education who is looking to develop a connection with a highly experienced teaching professional with extensive experience of working at all levels of primary teaching and at a variety of schools. |
| Mode of mentorship Tom is based in Sydney and is happy to communicate via phone, email and video call, and would be glad to have a few coffee catch-ups throughout the mentorship. He can provide excellent guidance to education students regarding assignments and placements and can share his journey and advice on how to be the best teacher you can be. |
How to apply
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ALEXANDRA GALLAND
Primary & Secondary Education / K-12 ICT Integrator / STEM for Girls
Alexandra is a Sancta alumna (1990-92) who has over 25 years of teaching experience. Alex has also held a variety of mentoring and leadership roles in schools. View Alex’s LinkedIn profile.
After completing her Bachelor of Arts (English and French majors), Alex trained as a Secondary English and TESOL teacher, but was soon drawn to the Primary classroom. Alex has worked at Kambala, Sydney, for 16 years, in a variety of positions including classroom teacher, English teacher, K-12 ICT integrator, webmaster and Middle Years Coordinator.
She then spent some time working as an education consultant for a variety of independent schools in Canberra. As a mother of toddlers, she embraced the playgroup experience: she ran her own playgroup and was a board member for the ACT Playgroups Association. During this time, Alex undertook further study: a Master of Education with a focus on ICT integration in the curriculum and incorporating thinking skills into the middle years of learning.
Alex currently works at Canberra Girls Grammar School and is the Director of Learning and Innovation in the Junior School. Alex also presents regularly at national and international conferences and summits, on a variety of topics such as STEM for girls, inquiry learning, authentic ICT integration, and frameworks for high potential learners. As a Google for Education Certified Innovator and Trainer, I work with EdTech Team to deliver professional learning workshops around Australia. For the past few years, I have also been a guest lecturer at the Australian Catholic University in Canberra.
| Best suited to This opportunity is best suited to a student studying primary or secondary education. This opportunity could also suit someone after mentoring on communication and leadership skills |
| Mode of mentorship Alex is based in Canberra and is happy to have contact at least once per month with the mentee and this can occur via Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp and email. Alex is ready to connect now. |
How to apply
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Pr / Media / Journalism / Marketing
GEORGIA McCAFFERTY
Journalism / Media / PR / Marketing / Management
Georgia attended Sancta from 1992-1994.
She currently works for The Economist in Singapore as Managing Editor – Client Branded Programmes. Her background is a vibrant mix of professions (in particular, journalism) and she now works in more of a marketing role for The Economist doing very interesting and impactful work in content, branding and client services. She is an experienced manager of people and departments. There may be scope for a physical component of this mentorship (in Singapore) but nothing can be confirmed at this stage.
More about Georgia here.
| Mode of mentorship Georgia is happy to have contact at least once per month with the mentee and this can occur via Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp, Google Hangouts and email. Georgia is ready to connect now. | |
How to apply
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ABBIE O’BRIEN
Journalism / Media
Abbie O’Brien is a Cross Platform Journalist and Reporter for SBS, based at their head office in Sydney. She commenced at SBS as a cadet journalist four years ago, after successfully applying to their Graduate Program from her hometown of Melbourne, Victoria.
She spent 12 months on a rotation of several of SBS’s programs and platforms before being offered an ongoing contract which sees her working mostly on SBS News, both sourcing and producing stories as well as reporting on the nightly news most evenings. Abbie completed her Bachelor’s Degree at RMIT University in Melbourne within the School of Media and Communication. She has always had a love for news, journalism and the creative and performing arts.
To date, her time at SBS has taken her on many local, interstate and international assignments, including recent trips to Cambodia and Germany. Abbie also reported for SBS on the recent Christchurch terrorist attacks in New Zealand.
| Mode of mentorship Abbie is happy to communicate via phone and email, and would be glad to have a few coffee catch-ups throughout the mentorship. She can provide excellent guidance to journalism students regarding assignments and media production and can share her journey and advice on how to get your foot in the door in media. |
| How to apply Please submit the following to [email protected]:
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Business / Management / International
BERNARDINE LAI-KRAUEL
Law / Business
Bernardine Lai-Krauel is an international legal and business development consultant based in Minnesota, US. She is a Sancta Alumna from the Fresher year of 1986 and attended USyd.
She recently commenced a new role in Client Relations and Client Development at a large US law firm, Faegre Baker Daniels. Faegre Baker Daniels also have offices in Shanghai and Beijing.
| Best suited to This opportunity is best suited to Law and/or Business Postgrad students who are looking to develop a connection with a highly experienced lawyer and businessperson with extensive international experience and proven success on multi-million dollar deals and projects. Bernardine’s specialty is in cross-border transactions, requiring expertise in international and discrete domestic commercial laws and regulations. This opportunity would absolutely be what you make of it! |
| Commencement and duration Bernardine is keen to find her match and start chatting as early as mid September! Duration would be discussed. |
| Mode of mentorship This would be a discussion between Bernardine and the matched student. She is interested in phone and/or Facetime/Skype communication on a semi-regular basis and would be happy to host the matched student for social and mentoring experiences in Minnesota if she/he wanted to do a semester abroad in the U.S as part of their studies. There may be opportunities for shadowing Bernardine at her working environment next year, however, she cannot guarantee anything at this stage. |
How to apply
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JODIE McALISTER
Politics / International Relations / Management / Cross Cultural Management / International Business and Agriculture / Economics / International Development
Jodie spent “four happy years” at Sancta from 1991-1994 whilst studying Agricultural Economics. Today, she works out of Canberra for the federal government in international trade and development and has forged an illustrious career in diplomatic roles and international business development settings.
She has worked offshore in Australia’s diplomatic missions and in Australia and has extensive experience in Federal Government operations – view Jodie’s LinkedIn profile
| Mode of mentorship She is based in Canberra and is happy to communicate regularly with the mentee via phone/email/WhatsApp etc. She expects to occasionally be in Sydney which would allow for some catch-ups close to Sancta. She would be glad to request special security access for her mentee to come to Canberra to her high-level security workplace for some shadowing time. The details of this arrangement can be discussed between Jodie and the mentee. |
| How to apply Please submit the following to [email protected]:
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BEN STOKES
Entrepreneurship / Business / Leadership / Philanthrophy
Ben is the CEO and Founder of SocialTable. His personal, academic and professional journey to date is impressive and colourful – to say the least! View Ben’s LinkedIn profile.
Born in Sri Lanka, Ben spent his early years in a rural orphanage before he was adopted by Australian parents who raised him in Tasmania. Ben started his Uni years as a Med student, studying Medicine and then a Masters of Tropical Medicine and Public Health. Along the way, he recalls encountering great mentorship by the then CEO of St Vincent’s Hospital. Funnily enough, Ben’s mentorship with the St Vincent’s Hospital CEO actually prompted his realisation that Med was not where he would be most happy. So Ben took some fairly drastic turns and completed a Law degree. The skilled communicator and leader’s story of becoming a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist (having worked on the success of several med-tech products in the US market, as well his own enterprise SocialTable, along with his building projects for his very own orphanage in Sri Lanka) is too long for me to document here but it is full of insights, intelligence and authenticity.
Ben wants to work with a Sancta Postgraduate student who feels they can benefit from any or all aspects of his expertise and life experiences, recognising how valuable his mentors have been and still are in his career.
| Best suited to Most suited to a mentorship with Ben would be those of you who are:
Of course, these are not the only possible outcomes of spending time learning with Ben – the mentorship will be what you and Ben make of it! |
| Mode of mentorship and time commitment Ben is happy to have a conversation with the matched student about how you can both gain maximum benefit. As a guide, he would be happy to commit to 2-3 hours of contact (face-to-face/digital/phone) per month, and when he is in Sydney he would like to catch up with you for discussions and/or shadowing in his daily operations as an enterprise CEO. |
| How to apply Submit the following to [email protected]:
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MATT O’HALLORAN
IT / Data / Management
Matt O’Halloran is currently the Head of IT at Ascender HCM.
Previously, he was the Head of Infrastructure at Toyota Finance.
Matt has been brought into our Professional Mentorships program via Fiona, who studied her Executive MBA alongside Matt at UNSW a few years ago – the two maintain a solid friendship.
| Best suited to Postgrads studying Business/Management/IT |
| Mode of mentorship Matt, who is based in Sydney, is keen to meet soon with the matched Sancta resident for a 1-2 hour sit down so the two of you can get to know each other and plan what your mentorship will look like. |
How to apply
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MEDICINE
RENEE BOLOT
Nursing / Medicine
Renee (FR ’99) works as a LifeFlight nurse bringing lifesaving treatment to patients throughout Australia and around the world, via helicopter and fixed-wing planes. With her extensive experience in ICU and emergency departments throughout Australia and the UK, Renee mentors young nurses and assists in the management of Royal Brisbane Hospital’s Disaster portfolio. She has assessed aeromedical teams internationally, enabling them to improve their clinical and safety systems and currently reports directly to the Queensland Government on preventative and improvement strategies and for the future needs of LifeFlight. Renee continues to develop her professional career through her study of a Masters in Public Health, majoring in Aeromedical Retrieval.
| Mode of mentorship Renee is based in Brisbane and is happy to communicate regularly with the mentee via phone/email/WhatsApp etc. She expects to occasionally be in Sydney which would allow for some catch-ups close to Sancta. Renee is ready to connect now. |
| How to apply Submit the following to [email protected]:
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DR TIMOTHY SCOTT
Medicine
Tim is a Staff Specialist at Sydney Children’s Hospital. He studied at Sancta in 1990 as one of very few postgraduate residents at that time and maintains connections to Sr Mary Shanahan.
He offers the most insight for the following specialisations:
- Paediatrics
| Mode of mentorship Tim is happy to communicate via email and phone for at least one hour per month. |
| How to apply Submit the following to [email protected]:
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DR CLAIRE STEWART
Medicine
TBA
| Mode of mentorship TBA |
| How to apply TBA |
DR SARAH JEFFREY
Medicine / Physiotherapy
Dr Jeffrey attended Sancta from 2000-2002 during her Undergraduate studies in Physiotherapy. She later returned to USyd to study Medicine and is now a General Practitioner in Newcastle.
Dr Jeffrey is able to give insights on shaping one’s studies and career as she has the experience of transitioning from Physio to Medicine. She can also give fantastic insights on life as a GP.
| Mode of mentorship In addition to video chats, phone calls, WhatsApp and email, she would be happy to meet the mentee for coffee occasionally when she is in Sydney, and would also be glad to be visited by them in Newcastle. Shadowing is most likely not possible unless organised through a university (due to legal reasons). |
How to apply
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PROFESSOR EMMA DUNCAN MBBS, FRCP, FRACP, PhD
Medicine
Adjunct Professor (Queensland University of Technology), Professor of Medicine (University of Queensland), President (Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society), Eminent Senior Staff Specialist (Endocrinology, Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital)
Prof Emma Duncan is an Eminent Senior Staff Specialist, Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital; Adjunct Professor, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology; and Professor of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland.
Prof Duncan graduated in medicine with first class honours from the University of Sydney in 1992. After moving to the UK in 1994, she undertook doctoral studies into the genetics of osteoporosis at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford. After completing her clinical training she was appointed consultant at the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism before returning to Australia in 2005. After five years as staff specialist at Princess Alexandra Hospital, she moved to her current clinician/scientist position at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
Since her undergraduate days, Prof Duncan has been fascinated by the skeleton. Research in bone diseases has formed the bulk of her basic and clinical research for over two decades, and she has published multiple research papers in osteoporosis and skeletal dysplasias. She is also interested in the genetics of other heritable endocrine disorders, such as maturity-onset diabetes in the young, phaeochromocytoma/paraganglioma, thyroid cancer and other endocrine tumours. Prof Duncan has broad practical experience in gene mapping, including genetic epidemiology, linkage, and genome-wide association studies; and more recently has played a strong role in gene discovery using massively parallel (“next-generation”) sequencing. She is particularly interested in translating the genetic revolution into clinical practice. In addition to her genetic research, Prof Duncan also contributes to clinical research in endocrinology and obstetric medicine.
Prof Duncan is currently president of the Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society, and an advocate for fairness towards women in the clinical and research workforce.
| Best suited to Emma feels she can best provide mentorship to residents who fit one or more of these categories:
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| Mode of mentorship Emma is interested in having broadly themed face-to-face (via Skype or Zoom) informal discussions with the mentee once per semester. Email contact could be more frequent, driven by the mentee. |
| How to apply Submit the following to [email protected]:
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