1. What year did you graduate VHS?
Class of 99’
2. Where are you working now and in what role?
I work in Byron Bay, both as a freelance food stylist, and also full time for Life Cykel, as General Manager of Quality Outcomes.
3. What do you love about your job?
I love having the freedom to be creative and to be doing something that brings joy to others.
I style food and create recipes for both jobs, and the creative process is definitely my favourite part of what I do. It’s also led to me to meet some amazing people, preparing food for celebrities, and being featured on magazine covers in the USA.
I also enjoy the challenges of the other parts of my role with Life Cykel, such as managing the USA and Australian shipping, customer service and content teams, which can often come with unexpected problems that I need to solve.
4. Did anyone at VHS inspire you to follow your chosen career path?
No, I didn’t really find my path until later in life.
5. Did you have many challenges to get to where you are now?
I’ve had many challenges along the way, both personal and business. I overcame PTSD and a panic disorder after a car accident in year 10, and then worked for 13 years in security, constantly being promoted, until I got to the position I thought I wanted, and realising it wasn’t the career for me. It was an interesting awakening, and made me realise the journey is far more important than the destination, because I learnt a lot along the way, and formed lifelong bonds with coworkers, it also set me up for my current roles.
6. Do you have any advice for our current students?
Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to know all the answers now. Putting all your eggs in one basket can be limiting, and what you want now, may be completely different to what you want in 10 years time (or even tomorrow!)
The best career is one you love! Sometimes I can’t believe I get paid to do what I do, because I love it so much!