Sometimes things only make sense when we see them in the revision mirror. It’s after the fact that we’re able to join-the-dots and clearly see that a series of moments were in fact an important story about us running its course. One such story has been taking shape and has surprisingly led to me starting as a STEM Educator at the Ballarat Tech School this week…
It all started at the end of 2023 when I was asked by the lovely Paloma Hodgins from Tafe Queensland if I’d like to be part of their ‘Design Salad’ - an annual online event where several industry professionals talk to the 60 or so graduating design students about life as a practising designer. I’d never been asked to do anything like this before so I was pretty excited and nervous to share my experience with the students.
Right from the start I’d decided that I wasn’t going to put together a fancy design deck because I basically didn’t have one - although I’ve been a graphic designer for 20 years I don’t have a huge flashy portfolio that would wow these young people so I opted for a different direction.
I decided that I would simply talk to them for the allocated 45 minutes with my main take away being the importance of being able to talk about yourself confidently (without standing behind a flashy portfolio). I had a few props, like a handful of primary school readers, which is what I design the most and a few stylescapes, knowing that it’s something that they have used in class.
It’s both easy and hard presenting to 60 people on a screen. Easy because I’m just sitting in my office, a safe and comfortable environment but then it’s quite overwhelming when you start to imagine that 60 or so people are waiting for you to do something. I start to talk really quickly and energetically when I’m nervous so the vibes were pretty high right from the get go.
I did not write a presentation and told the students I was deliberately ‘winging it’ because being able to confidently talk about yourself (without a script) has absolutely had the biggest impact on my career. Being a proud ‘average designer’, I’ve never got a job because my portfolio stood out from others, I got jobs because people want to work with me. Being confident and able to engage in conversations with others has created more opportunities for me than having a Bachelor of Design ever has.
My energetic but quite loose presentation was going well I thought and I was really getting into the swing of it. I still had about 15 minutes to go when I noticed a car pull into the carpark at work behind me. I sat with my back facing the window so I couldn't see who had arrived but I was hoping that they had the wrong address (which happened all the time) and they’d leave because Matt was out.
It was raining and I tried to not get distracted by the visitor as I was still presenting but then another car pulled into the carpark. Then another. At this stage I’m starting to get a little concerned as I see in the reflection on my computer a group of 5 or 6 people starting to collect in the rain outside. Everyone online can see what is happening behind me because I never use a screen filter and it got to the point where I had to stop and see what's going on.
The 6 visitors were from the Ballarat Tech School and Matt had forgotten to add their factory tour into the work calendar so I had no idea about it. He’d obviously forgotten about it as well since he’d gone out so I had 6 people standing out in the rain and 60 online waiting for something to happen. I panicked.
I tried to tell the Tech school team that I was in the middle of a presentation and instead of quietly and calmly inviting them in to wait in the factory for a minute I made them stand out in the rain while I rushed back to my computer and said I was going to have to cut things short because I had a group waiting for me. Because I had no script I was able to turn this unexpected event into an example of how being flexible and agile is what’s required for running a business. I had to pivot real quick.
Within a few moments I’d flipped from my presentation to walking the Tech School team through the HUCX factory and giving them one of the most high energy site visits they’d probably ever experienced. Matt eventually arrived back at work and was very apologetic to everyone but I’d kept them all entertained and it ended up being a really fun visit. As the Tech school was leaving one of the course coordinators asked if I would be interested in mentoring with the Girls In STEM program the following year and I, of course, said yes.
Being asked to be a mentor was pretty awesome because again, it had nothing to do with my portfolio but was because I was confident and good at engaging with others. The actual mentoring was a blast. I only had a few sessions with the Girls in STEM but witnessing the transformation from quite shy and nervous young people at the beginning to these empowered young women who commanded the attention of a room of 60 or so people at their graduation was extraordinary.
I also went through a transformation during this time as I started to see that perhaps sitting behind a computer screen isn’t the best use of my talents. In conjunction with the Future Shapers leadership course I completed last year, I had revealed strengths, interests and curiosities that would no longer be satisfied by continuing on the same path I’d been traveling. The closure of HUCX had forced a hard reset of our entire lives but this also gave me space to consider what I really wanted to do.
The universe of course had a plan. As I started to inquire about potential opportunities, the Ballarat Tech School was about to advertise for a new STEM educator position. I was asked to apply and long story short, you're looking at one of the Tech School newest and most inexperienced STEM Educators!
This part time role will be the most exciting and steep learning curve ever and while I’m feeling a little overwhelmed with my current knowledge gap, the team at the Tech school have been so encouraging that whatever happens it will either be good news or a good story.
If you’d asked me 12 months ago what my plans were this would have been so far outside of the imaginable. It’s only on reflection that it all makes sense and it proves that winging it and treating everything as an opportunity - even the shitty things (like double booking a tour/presentation) can lead to all sorts of wild and unexpected outcomes.
