#MonashAlumni

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Sarah-Anne Butler

Sarah-Anne is eagerly developing a global commercial perspective through her studies in Law, Arts (Psychology) and a Diploma in Languages (Chinese). She is working as a paralegal at King & Wood Mallesons and aspires to work as a lawyer in an international commercial law firm. Given the rise of the borderless world of technology, she believes that building an innovative mindset will assist her to develop the skills necessary to succeed and thrive in the modern legal industry.

Through her Chinese studies, Sarah-Anne has already embarked on her global journey by acquiring a level of linguistic and cultural competency, as well as an insight into Australia’s biggest trading partner. In addition, her leadership role as an executive member of the Australia-China Youth Association at Monash has made her more globally minded. With her interest in commercial dealings and China, Sarah-Anne is looking forward to meeting Sue Fennessy to learn about her founding of The8App and her business relations while working in Shanghai.

Sarah-Anne currently volunteers as a legal officer at the not-for-profit organisation, Oaktree. She appreciates this opportunity to harness her legal skills while also engaging in youth participation and advocacy work. She has also been fortunate to learn the value and importance of mentoring, being a mentee in the Victorian Women Lawyers’ mentoring program. She hopes to develop her leadership skills through this Global Discovery Program in order to act as a mentor for younger law students.

Sarah-Anne is delighted to have been chosen for the Global Discovery Program and will embrace the opportunities it offers to learn and to develop an innovative mindset.

Learn more about the Global Discovery Program.

[thejessicat]

Though we'll all adults now... We may have already graduated from #Monash but you'll never get Monash out of us! ❌ 📚🙌🎉 #MonashUniversity #Australia #Gippsland #MonashAlumni #Uni #Unidays #CatchUp #Malaysia #Mauritius (at Tom Dick & Harry's Pavilion)

[monashuni]

Wang Khang Hwui

Wang Khang Hwui, also known as Josh, is in his final year studying Business Analytics and Banking Finance. Josh is an analytical problem-solver who loves challenges. From a young age, he has possessed entrepreneurial traits that have helped him face his fears and take control of his life. In the future, Josh plans to start his own firm that will be the forefront for analytics in Malaysia.

Josh deeply appreciates the arts and portrait photography in particular. He believes that behind every portrait lies a captivating story.

He applied for the Global Discovery Program because he wanted to broaden his perspectives with the views of thought leaders, understanding their thought processes while learning about their struggles and backgrounds.

He hopes to gain inspiration and empowerment from the visits with global leaders while seeking out ideas and opportunities. His biggest expectation is to be able to learn from others’ triumphs and mistakes. Beyond that, he is keen to understand the role of analytics in a digital age and how they have helped companies become more sustainable and profitable.

Learn more about the Global Discovery Program.

[monashuni]

David Lei

David is currently studying his honours year of a Bachelor of Software Engineering. His research topics include machine learning, natural language processing and artificial intelligence.

Beyond his studies, David has gained valuable work experience working as a Technical Analyst at Accenture and as a two-time intern at Google as part of the Network Site Reliability and Google Maps teams. His most recent internship resulted in launching a new feature on Google Maps Android to millions of users worldwide.

David has also been part of the Student Innovation team at Monash’s e-Solutions, building products for students such as monPlan (a course planner) and FutureYou (a career mapper), which will soon be incorporated into the workflow for university enrollment.

In his spare time, he volunteers and works on side products, involved with such organisations as Robogals, WIRED at Monash and open source projects such as GeckoDM.

A tutor in the Faculty of Information Technology, David is passionate about education and sees it as a global passport, an equalizer allowing people to reach new heights and break boundaries. He wants to one day launch a startup that helps transform the way people learn.

David enjoys attending hackathons and techtalks. His most recent hackathon won his team a trip to San Francisco to compete in Facebook’s World Hackathon Finals.

He is honoured to be a part of the Global Discovery Program, where he hopes to build an international network, learn from successful Monash alumni and world leaders and hopefully work alongside them one day.

Learn more about the Global Discovery Program.

[monashuni]

Eliza Li

Eliza Li is a third-year Bachelor of Biomedicine/Commerce scholar, entrepreneurship ambassador, public health researcher and humanitarian global health volunteer. She is also founder of Reach In Education, a social enterprise helping create a culture of entrepreneurship in high schools.

Since launching the enterprise in 2018, Eliza has taught more than 20 high school students to think more entrepreneurially. She believes that students need to be taught future-proof skills to better prepare them for the changing world of work. In the next decade, she hopes to empower students with entrepreneurship and develop a generation of young people solving social issues.

At 20, Eliza gave her first Ted Talk, “The next era of education: why entrepreneurship needs to be taught in high schools,” at TedXMonashUniversity 2018. She was also nominated for the 2018 Victorian Young Achiever of the Year for Social Impact, cited in the Medical Journal of Australia for her public health research, named the youngest Women of Significance by Ruyton Girls’ School and is the youngest migrant founder selected by the YGAP First Gens Accelerator Program. Eliza frequently speaks at conferences and leadership camps.

Eliza shares her experiences through her blog, documenting rare opportunities and conversations she’s had with influential entrepreneurs. Eliza believes in making learning opportunities more accessible to all.

Learn more about the Global Discovery Program.

[monashuni]

Andrew Stevenson

In the final year of his Theatre and Performance degree, Andrew is an actor with a passion for creating authentic work. He believes all people should feel comfortable to express their thoughts and experiences through art, regardless of gender, race, sexuality or beliefs. He will soon begin working in consultation with Vision Australia and the vision impaired community to create theatre that is as exciting for the vision impaired as for sighted audience members.

Andrew strives to promote the importance of having a “key communicative toolkit” in all industries. He believes that developing strong professional and personal communication skills is vital to discovering new opportunities.

During the Global Discovery Program, Andrew particularly looks forward to meeting Karl Redenbach, CEO and co-founder of LiveTiles. He is excited to learn how a creative and artistic mindset can be utilised in the professional development of new software technologies and business development.

He is also eager to meet Dimitra Manis, Chief People Officer of S&P Global, due to her promotion of the importance of self-reflection and -awareness – skills he has strived to develop over the past months.

Andrew looks forward to experiencing New York, where he plans to someday pursue his acting career. He hopes that the Global Discovery Program will allow him to initiate conversation with global leaders from a range of professions, discovering new ways of thinking.

Learn more about the Global Discovery Program.

[monashuni]

Edwina Kolomanski

Edwina is a second-year Juris Doctor student with a passion for innovation, large-scale transformation and the future world of work.

Currently a change manager at Telstra, working across a complex digital transformation project, Edwina’s professional career has also included time with the AFL, Tennis Australia and the Victorian Government.

More recently, Edwina created the purpose-driven startup girledworld. Dispirited with the current and future career education available to young Australians and a lack of visible female role models, she co-founded the ed- tech startup while completing her Master of Entrepreneurship in 2016.

Girledworld’s mission is to empower, equip and educate the next generation of female entrepreneurs, leaders and STEM champions using interactive events, female role models, industry insights and by building 21st-century enterprise skill sets.

Edwina hopes to extend her network internationally through the Global Discovery Program, and to meet with global Monash alumni and leaders to learn more about the human and social issues of our technological age. She hopes to discuss how international organisations are proactively tackling the rapidly changing human and technological needs of their workforce.

Learn more about the Global Discovery Program.

[monashuni]

Global Leaders’ Week 2018

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“It’s about being curious all the time”

By Corinna Lagerberg

For many university students like Corinna Lagerberg, studying a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism)/Laws (Honours), preparing to enter the workforce during a time of change and disruption is a daily challenge. This month, the Global Discovery Program (GDP) saw Corinna and nine fellow students travel to New York for ten days to meet Monash alumni. The mission: developing an innovative mindset to survive and thrive in an ever changing labour market.

“The Global Discovery Program shows you what is possible. Meeting with alumni who are working at the top of their fields, who are inherently curious, who problem solve, who aren’t afraid to take risks, is such an inspiring and motivational experience,” says Corinna. Throughout the week the students visit a diverse range of alumni and companies including YouTube, MetLife Insurance, Moelis & Company, BlackRock and LiveTiles. Speaking with global industry leaders, the students gain insight about developing their own innovative mindset.

For Greg Baxter, Chief Digital Officer of MetLife Insurance, innovation is part of his daily routine. “It’s about being curious all the time. Being humble enough to explore new ideas. Having a commitment to actually do something.”

Patrick Loftus-Hill, a founding member of the GDP and a Partner and Managing Director at Moelis & Company, is passionate about the connections the program can create. “We started the Global Discovery Program in New York and it has spread globally,” says Patrick. “For me, it’s so pleasing to see what it has done for the alumni community of New York...and to give ten amazing students at Monash the opportunity to see the world and to see the world the way the alumni that live in New York see the world.” At the heart of the program is the shared experience of studying at Monash University, which fosters an international network between students and alumni. “It is one of the most rewarding parts of the program to watch your journey, the journey of the students, and to bring them along with you,” says Patrick.

As Karl Redenbach, Co-Founder and CEO of LiveTiles explains, the GDP is also focused on developing long lasting outcomes for the students involved.

“The GDP is a great opportunity to personally be involved with having the youth of Monash and some of the brightest talent come oversees,” says Karl. “Important for us is just seeing how this can hopefully impact the development of really bright and smart young people.”

[monashuni]

Samuel Goh

Samuel Goh is currently in his fourth year, studying a Bachelor of Commerce and Engineering as well as a Diploma of Languages.

As a student completing a major in Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, Samuel is passionate about digital technology and its impact on society. There is continuous innovation in this area and enormous potential to better our society as a whole through health care, sustainability or education. Samuel would love to see digital technology used as a platform to unleash the power of global collaboration, creating communities across borders and fostering unity amongst diversity. He would also love to see digital technology used to bring education to remote areas, granting millions of people access to a resource we so easily take for granted.

Samuel considers himself globally minded and loves to connect with other cultures. In recent years, he has travelled, completed language programs and spent a year overseas on exchange. He is excited by what you can learn and experience from other cultures. Samuel works with international students at Monash, helping them develop their own cross-cultural communication.

Through the Global Discovery program, Samuel is looking forward to meeting alumni who can help him to build an innovative mindset through advice drawn from their personal experiences as global leaders and entrepreneurs. He believes that textbooks and lectures are only the start of learning.

Learn more about the Global Discovery Program.

[monashuni]

Corinna Lagerberg

A curious person who approaches situations from all angles, Corinna is in her final year of a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) and Laws (Honours).

Corinna spent much of her Bachelor of Arts interning at major news organizations across Melbourne, including The Age, The Herald Sun and The Conversation. She subsequently received a grant from DFAT to travel to Nepal and report on humanitarian issues.

On the back of these experiences, Corinna became Editor at Monash’s online news site, Mojo News. This was also the year a purpose-built television and radio studio, the Monash Media Lab, launched. Working with a team of open-minded and creative journalism students, she began to question the model of news delivery, embracing opportunities presented by the Media Lab to deliver content like never before, introducing MojoTV, live-streaming segments of their episodes and substantially increasing Mojo’s podcast output. This growth mindset led to a growth in readership and membership numbers.

Reflecting on her time as Editor, Corinna recognizes that an innovative mindset is essential not only to survive, but also to thrive as a journalist in the digital era.

Corinna’s work in community and commercial law has demonstrated to her that innovation is integral to the development and success of all industries, especially those often practised in traditional ways. In line with this, she hopes to learn and be inspired by the Global Discovery Program’s diverse leaders so that she can develop her own burgeoning innovative mindset and ensure that she is equipped with the skills and bravery needed for an ever-changing workforce.

Learn more about the Global Discovery Program.

[monashuni]

Hayden Keep

Hayden was drawn to a Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Information Technology after recognising the need to accommodate new technology in a changing world and combining this with his passion for learning and sharing knowledge.

Hayden’s vision is to connect the world through technology and help others fulfil their potential through education. He believes the power and value of connecting ideas, people and information is tremendous, driving the world to new and wonderful places.

He loves challenging ideas and has learned that there is always something to gain from a situation, but that you may have to journey to find it. Hayden loves to share this mindset with others, encouraging perseverance and a desire to discover while being unafraid to get a little lost.

He embraces this journey in in his work as an education aide, facilitating students to make their own connections with the world and helping them shape their own visions and dreams. Hayden helps students draw upon their diversity of cultures and perspectives.

Knowing the value of new connections and stories, Hayden eagerly awaits the Global Discovery Program and the wealth of experience and knowledge it brings.

Learn more about the Global Discovery Program.

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Joslyn Ma

Passionate about startups, tech, innovation, the law and cultural literacy, Joslyn aspires to become a global lawyer and has committed to creating a positive impact in the world through entrepreneurship and community-building.

Currently completing a BA/LLB degree, Joslyn was recognised as the 2015 Victorian Student of the Year - Internationalisation and awarded the 2018 New Colombo Plan Scholarship. In the past few years, she founded two nonprofits and a tech and law publication. Most recently, she co-founded the World Law Forum, an independent, non-partisan, international community of changemakers committed to promoting the rule of law and transforming the world through law.

As an Australian with an international upbringing (having lived in Hong Kong for 10 years and travelled extensively), she believes an innovative mindset comes with exposure to diverse cultures, people and environments that in turn inspire a different perspective.

Through the prominent Monash alumni who stood before her, Joslyn hopes to better understand the issues facing society, as well as the innovations that are helping the world to progress. She is looking forward to meeting and learning from her fellow peers and mentors that have successfully established themselves across the ocean.

Learn more about the Global Discovery Program.

[monashuni]

Global Discovery Day 7 - 1 July by Valerian McCaskill

As our 8-day adventure drew to a close, the effect of a busy week in New York was slowly taking its toll, as shown on the graph below.

Luckily the day began with a taxi to the Twitter headquarters in NYC, which had food and refreshments, and an unlimited supply of coffee.

We were shown around their offices and were amazed by the trendy work environment and free beer on tap. We spoke with Monash alumnus John-Paul Sukkar (MBusMgt 2014) and his colleague Kelly and heard many stories of working at Twitter.

Pictured: Tyson Kraft, John Crozier-Durham and John-Paul Sukkar

We made our way to Global Citizen, a not for profit that is aiming to achieve eradication of extreme poverty by 2030. Here we met with Global Director of Policy and Advocacy, Michael Sheldrick and spoke about facilitating global change.

After this was Colombia University. We spoke with the CEO of GIANT Innovation, David Debscheck, and discussed what factors assist and hinder innovation. We also sat in one of Columbia University’s original lecture theatres, seen in the classic film Spiderman 2.

We then visited the YouTube and Google offices hosted by Monash alumnus Eshan Ponnadurai (BBusSys 2006), Global Head of Marketing, Music at YouTube. These offices were gigantic and had professional video production rooms free to use for any YouTuber with over 5000 subscribers. We spoke about the possible future trajectory of our careers, which was very insightful.

We took the subway to Citi Field to watch the New York Mets v Chicago Cubs (Baseball). Unfortunately it started raining heavily and the game looked to be cancelled so we instead headed back to East Village to enjoy some food and wish a sad goodbye to John Crozier-Durham, International Alumni Manager - North America, Monash University who had assisted us greatly during our time in New York.

Overall, this trip has been a life changing experience, and has not only opened our eyes to the wealth of opportunities in the world, but has given us more confidence, understanding and connections to become future change makers.

[monashuni]

Global Discovery Day 6 - 30 June by Navaar Carr-Janif

Every day of the Global Discovery Program is an exciting experience, it starts with eight visibly fatigued students desperately seeking coffee, but it always ends with huge smiles and a wealth of knowledge having been gained from some of New York’s most inspirational people. One of these people is Monash alumnus and member of the Monash University East Coast Global Leaders Group, Karl Redenbach (BA 1999, LLB 2000). Today we visited his software development company ‘LiveTiles’ which has grown to extraordinary heights since its inception in 2014.

At LiveTiles we were greeted not only by Karl, but by his entire staff, who were given the morning to have breakfast with us, answer questions and even learn something themselves. Karl believes creativity is the future of the world, and as businesses all switch to technology his contribution becomes particularly important. In addition to this, Karl is a very inspiring boss, the culture and energy of the office was extremely positive, and it has evidently paid off in the success of their business. After this we visited ‘Fried Frank’, which contrary to our assumptions was NOT actually a fast-food store, but rather a very successful law firm where partner and Monash alumnus Mark Lucas (BCom 2001, LLB(Hons) 2001) gave us a detailed insight into corporate law in New York. Mark assured us that it is the “role of lawyers to give back in some way, whatever it is”, and for Fried Frank this means a lot of pro bono work, donations and charitable fundraising. This humanitarian trend means that many firms are now ignored if they don’t focus on something besides profit.

Following this we had the privilege of touring the New York Stock Exchange, an event arranged by the Managing Director of Goldman Sachs’ Prime Brokerage Sales team; Thomas Anglin. The NYSE is as hectic as you would imagine, hundreds of people, hundreds of thousands of numbers, and television crews zipping in and out of the chaos. We happen to be in some of this footage, resisting all temptation to wave goofily at the camera because we were urged to ‘act cool’ by staff.

Finally the night was rounded off in a spectacular way, Monash alumnus Derek Linsell of Apricot Consulting hosted an evening of speed-dating, business style. We were each paired with eight amazing individuals, and were given 5 minutes to chat to them before having to switch. The conversation focused on how they were changing the world in their lives, and what advice they could give to us going forward. We were inspired within 300 seconds, and we left that event being better people because of it. Our night came to a close when we de-briefed, laughed and found ourselves ready to do it all again in the morning.

[monashuni]

Global Discovery Day 5 - 29 June by Nahkita Wolfe

It was a bit of a sluggish start for all this morning – having exhausted our energies on picking the bright and brilliant brains of many Monash East Coast Alumni at the Gala Dinner last night. So I’m probably understating this when I say that visiting Monash alumnus Nick Stone (BBus(Bkg&Fin) 2006) at his famous Bluestone Lane Café for some Melbourne-style coffee and smashed avocado was the perfect start to our day. Nick is the Founder and CEO of Bluestone Lane: a rapidly scaling enterprise bringing the Melbourne coffee culture to the bustling streets of New York. Nick’s story was not only impressive, but compelling and unique – having escaped his corporate lifestyle as Director at ANZ Banking Group to entertain his entrepreneurial endeavours. He was welcoming and inclusive, and we were all incredibly humbled to learn from his experiences (and finally drink some good coffee in New York!).

Next up we ventured to the historic Woolworth Tower to meet Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of BlackRock Infrastructure Investment Group and Monash University East Coast Global Leader, alumna Anne Valentine Andrews (BEc 1992, LLB(Hons) 1995). BlackRock is the largest asset management organisation in the world, and has recently invested in the redevelopment and residential restoration of Woolworth Tower. Woolworth Tower is one of the three most iconic New York buildings standing today, matched only by the likes of the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. The building was originally erected in 1913, and both the exterior detailing and interior design left all of us speechless. An exclusive tour of some of the upper floors under construction was the opportunity of a lifetime – never again will we have the opportunity to meander through $100M apartments, regardless of the stage of renovation. Anne and her colleagues’ energy and generosity made the experience all the more meaningful, and it was an experience we'll never forget.

Just when we thought we’d had our fair share of phenomenal panoramic New York views, we headed to the headquarters of Estée Lauder Companies to gain insights from Monash alumna, Dimitra Manis (BBus(Mgt) 1992). Dimitra is the Global Human Resources Executive and Chief HR Business Partner and Advisor to the CEO, Board, and Senior Team at Estée Lauder. The boardroom that she hosted us in provided us an unobscured view over Central Park and the Upper East Side, which set the scene for an empowering exchange of the stories and career journeys of her diverse colleagues. The key takeaways from Dimitra and her wonderful team for any aspiring leader were to take risks, take ownership, create opportunities, celebrate human connection, collect experiences, and don’t ever try to be someone other than yourself. If we weren’t ready to harness our sense of adventure and agency before entering the beautiful Estée Lauder offices, we certainly were afterwards.

Finally, we finished up our jam-packed day with a visit to Viacom International Media Networks – the home-base of Monash alumnus Gerry Gouy (BSc 1992), Senior Director of Global Business Development at MTV International. After taking us on a journey from his days at Monash to his current role, Gerry secured us VIP tickets to The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore. The show explored contemporary social issues through comedy, and was incredibly entertaining and engaging. None of us could fully express our gratitude to Gerry, who was so generous with his time and authenticity.

Overall, another fantastic day in the life of a Global Discovery Program Scholar! We can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.