Navigating career choices in and beyond school

Image: Old Trinity Grammarians Jack Stewart (far right) with (L-R) Harry Osmond, Matt Moran, Dan McNab, Alex Boxer and Will Toner volunteer at the returning OTG careers session.

Tell us about the recent event that you and your peers were part of. What drew you to be a part of it?

We helped run the returning OTG careers session for the second consecutive year, where we organise a group of recently graduated OTGs studying a variety of different things to speak to the Year 11s and 12s about their tertiary courses; what they entail, how to navigate the application process, and so on. This year we had 15 OTGs present on more than 10 study areas, ranging from commerce to science to aviation.

What does it mean to you to be able to give back to Trinity students through opportunities like this?

It’s always nice to come back to Trinity and provide some advice to the students. It wasn’t too long ago that I was finishing up at school, so I can empathise with the decisions and challenges confronting the older boys, especially. There are many different cross-age mentoring programs run at Trinity, and I think that there’s plenty of scope to maintain those relationships between senior students and recent school graduates.

What has it been like navigating life post-school? What has been the most surprising element?

Post-school life is a significant transition, at first. University is far more self-driven than school. Some people enjoy the freedom, others struggle without the structure and routine. One thing that I have found surprising is the relative difficulty forming new friendships – with more online learning and less contact hours, meeting new people is not as easy as when you’re at school.

What was your experience during school in considering future career/study? What resources did you find most helpful at the time?

It’s hard to know whether or not you’re making the right decision when choosing a career path. I think that you’re just making a somewhat reasoned guess and hoping that your decision proves to be a good one. The school’s careers counsellor at the time I was completing Year 12 is someone whose advice I’ll always be grateful for regarding course selection. I’d definitely encourage all of the students to consider meeting with the school’s careers counsellor, Gina Bolch, at some point, to discuss their plans for the future.

How would you describe the sense of connection between fellow OTGs, the school and the Trinity community?

I think most people who graduate from Trinity still hold a fond sense of attachment to the school, regardless of whether they remain formally connected or not. The sporting clubs are obviously a strong point of connection between the OTGA community and the school, but I think that there are other areas where we can establish better links – job opportunities for university graduates, for example.

What advice would you give to students considering their career paths?

Consider your strengths and passions. Consider what sort of work-life balance you want to have. Talk to your parents. Talk to your friends. Also, be comforted by the fact that you can always change your mind about what you want to do – I know plenty of people who have changed their university degree, or pursued a different path than originally expected, and that’s ok.

Tell us about your journey in the Careers space while at Trinity. When did it start?

My journey in the Careers space began like many others – with Work Experience in Year 10, scheduled one-on-one sessions with the Head of Careers at the time and attending careers expos offered by the school. For Work Experience, I did Maxme, which helped me get a clearer definition of what I wanted to do and gave me insights into how the workplace worked.

What are your current goals for post-school? Have they changed during your time at Trinity?

My current goal for post-school is to get into the Doctor of Medicine course at Monash University. This was always my ‘dream’ throughout my time at Trinity, but as I got older, and aided with the Careers space, this helped affirm my desire to get into medicine.

Have you had any interaction with OTGs through Careers events? If so, what was that experience like?

I vividly remember Will Browning (OTG 2020) and Jack Stewart (OTG 2020) who came and gave us invaluable insight and knowledge in how to get into medicine, and also what their experience was like at university. Some things they informed us about was their work/life balance in medicine, how much they prepared for the UCAT and interview and also how the course worked – all new information that we found very helpful.

What has been the most valuable aspect of the Careers program at Trinity? Has there been an experience that has changed your perspective on what you might like to do post-school?

For me, I feel like Careers space helped put my ‘dreams’ and goals into something much more tangible. Knowing that there were past Trinity students who went through the ‘same’ journey and have not only completed but excelled in their current university course gave me some confidence that I could do the same.

What is it that you have learnt during your time at Trinity that you would like to take into your life and career post-school?

Trinity has indirectly and directly shaped the person I am today – it has guided me to have discover my own values and what I stand for. I hope this will give me a good foundation in my life and career post-school.