Sitting for final exams right before finishing a degree can be a very stressful time. But for Griffith University’s Alexander MacInnes, it was made a little bit easier by an unexpected job offer from Commonwealth Bank.
A student heavily involved in extracurricular activities, Alex had submitted his resume to the bank hoping to secure an internship when he finished his Commerce degree in Finance.
But although optimistic about his chances, he didn’t hear anything for about a year and a half and put it out of his mind. Then he got a phone call.
“It had been ages and all of a sudden I got a phone call saying an actual position was available, and I should apply,” he said.
“I met with the executive manager and he explained the role and got to know me and from then we enjoyed a really good rapport. He told me then he wanted to put me right through the interview process of the first position, and skip the actual online application.”
Unfortunately, Alex missed out on the position to someone internal. But it seems a great impression was left because a few months later, he heard back from the bank.
“I got a call on the Tuesday of exam week, I remember because it was the morning of my first exam.
“They said ‘We’re not even going to bother interviewing this new position, we’re just going to offer it to you!
“I was studying with some friends at the time and I hung up and we all just celebrated! It was pretty cool.”
Alex says the new position will see him assisting not-for-profit companies make the most of their finances.
“I am really people focused and I really like being able to interact with people and help them achieve their goals so this job is perfect for me,” Alex said.
“Through my previous sports management degree, we did a lot of not-for-profit analysis and working out how those companies should structure themselves.
“I am looking forward to combining that with the financial knowledge and trying to help clients. I also get to interact with clients daily and build a real rapport.”
Alex (left) on his global exchange.
The former Bachelor of Commerce student believes the experience gained from his global and local internships contributed to his success with Commonwealth Bank.
“Everyone always raves on about how you need to get experience and I really was keen on getting experience as early as possible,” Alex said.
“I went to Germany for three months and it was the best three months of my life.
“I worked for a real estate investment company analysing how we could try and get them onto the DAX index. My role was to study competitors, see how they’d grown and where their strengths were and work out how we could catch market share.
“My local internship was at the Cold Coast Turf Club. They just built this brand new events centre and my job was to come up with a marketing and business plan to ensure it wasmaximised. They actually implemented it now and it’s thriving. So I take a lot of pride when I drive past it and think that I helped.”
He says there are numerous benefits to doing internships both globally and locally. “Professionally it gives you the edge to show you have experience in different markets and overseas working with different people and you can understand different cultures,” he explains.
“But personally it helped me grow because I had to go overseas. I’d never spoken a word of German before in my life so I had to go over there, learn the language, learn how the culture worked. Learning those sort of life skills are invaluable to my future career.”
In fact, he’s such an advocate of the internship program that he’s been made Griffith University’s Global Internship Ambassador, a position he will continue after he leaves.
And he has some advice for current students looking to replicate his success in grabbing a job with one of the majorbanks after graduation.
“Do everything while you are at uni; work, play sport – there are heaps of sporting clubs – get involved in the social side,” he says. “I’ve done it all from captain of the football team, to getting involved with other social stuff, gone to parties, and also working full-time to make sure I had a strong understanding of finances and budgeting.
“Griffith allows you that flexibility, and the Business School is especially good with how they structure their programs so you can do that. Theensure that when you have your degree you’re well rounded, not just leavingwith a piece of paper.
A powerful new documentary by Griffith Film School alumnus Guy Mansfield tells the stories of the “forgotten women” living with advanced breast cancer.
The documentary follows women who attend theAdvanced Breast Cancer Group(ABCG) – a support group for women across Queensland with advanced breast cancer, an illness for which there is still no cure.
Post Pinkfeatures candid interviews with six women and their children, partners and parents. It was shot over six months and provides an honest account of their experiences, from dealing with the diagnosis to living with a terminal disease.
“I didn’t know how each woman would react to the ‘straight to the bone’ questions I was asking,” he said.
“What we managed to get was beyond my expectations — I was absolutely stunned by how they opened up on camera about love, life, death.
“I think it helps to know you can talk about these things — it’s been cathartic.
“Many of the women told me afterwards that the filming process had helped their family overcome a lot of the fear and anxiety associated with the diagnosis.”
“The faculty and students at Griffith Film School have collaborated with us on several films,” she said.
“It has been a fantastic relationship.”
A devastating diagnosis
The Advanced Breast Cancer Group was founded in 1999 and supports women across the state who have been diagnosed with advanced breast cancer.
The service helps women to find a way of living in the face of this devastating diagnosis, and allows them to connect with other women in the same situation.
“Advanced breast cancer is not a cancer many people like to engage with, as it is not about positive thinking, changing diet, or surviving – this is about the day to day of living with an incurable illness,” Ms O’Brien said.
The forgotten women
Post Pink director Guy Mansfield said the film’s titlehighlighted the difference between the successful campaign to battle primary breast cancer, and the challenges faced by women living with a disease for which there is no cure.
“A lot of events that are part of the ‘pink movement’ have an almost carnival atmosphere. It’s all about beating breast cancer, which is overcome by many women thanks to major advances in modern medicine,” he said.
“However this is not a place for those with advanced stage breast cancer, which is terminal.
“The Advanced Breast Cancer Group is one of the very few groups that offer support to these forgotten women.”
Hope in the face ofadversity
ABCG facilitator Mary O’Brien said the film showed women who had been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer that they didn’t have to travel the journey alone.
“For many of these women, they don’t know anyone in this situation, and it makes them feel more isolated and alone,” she said.
“When they see their experience reflected on screen, it makes them feel more connected.
“This is actually a film with a lot of hope.
“People grow through adversity, and learn things about themselves and each other along the way.
“This disease makes people view their life in a different way – you can’t take it for granted, which is very inspiring.”
A valuable resource
The film will be launched at Griffith Film School on 21 April.
Post Pink is designed as a free resource for anyone around Australia dealing with terminal breast cancer.
After the launch, it will be available online and in oncology wards and clinics across the state, and will also be used in universities across Australia for social work and psychotherapy students.
The film was produced by ABCG facilitators Mary O’Brien and Pia Hirsch with GFS Masters student Mircha Mangiacotti. GFS doctoral candidate Carey Ryan is overseeing marketing and event management.
The five member team — Elias Greil, Rhyan Nash, Lisa Rawlings, Ruby Sethi and Riven Zhang – presented a strong case to the judges who marked them highly as they argued their business case on a sell recommendationfor their chosen ASX-listed company.
Best of the Aussie teams
Griffith finished the highestof the three Australian universities, Monash and Curtin, which competed at the Asia-Pacific Round Challenge.
Dr John Fan, a lecturer at the Department of Accounting, Finance and Economicsisthe faculty adviser and was extremely proud of the team’s achievement.
“There were 25 or so teams involved from around the region and to finish as high as we did was pretty exciting.
“We argued our case methodically and expertly and I know the judges, who are all leading asset fund managers, were very impressed but it was exceedingly strong competition.”
The Griffith Team (l-R Ruby Sethi, Lisa Rawlings, Rhyan Nash, Elias Greil, Riven Zhang) finished third in the Asia-Pacific Challenge.
The Asia Pacific round was taken out by Singapore Management University who now challenge for the major prize in the global finalin late April
Mr Ken Howard, a senior private wealth adviser from Morgans Financialwas the industry adviser for the Griffith team.
To view Griffith’s presentation in Bangkok, click herewith the team’s presentation startingat 1:02:18
What happens when service provision for people with disabilities does not live up to expectations and people are left feeling vulnerable or exposed in their own living environment?
This is just one of the discussion topics on the agenda at next week’s Human Rights Forum – a collaboration between Griffith University and Queensland Advocacy Incorporated – where people with disabilities and their families and carers, will share knowledge and experiences around the six priority areas of the National Disability Strategy 2010-2020.
Madonna Nicoll is a committee member for the social advocacy organisation Speaking Up for You, and will be one of the presenters at this week’s forum at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Having spent many years in an institutional setting and in-home supported living environments due to her confinement to a wheelchair, Ms Nicoll will be talking about some of the harmful experiences that occur among people with disabilities in these circumstances.
Service provision far less than a respectful experience
“I spent a lot of time in different care situations both growing up and as an adult and I can tell you there were many instances where the service provision was far less than a respectful experience.
“There wasa time when I was left in a corridor in the institution by a support worker, with just a towel around me after a shower,” she remembered.
“A group of businessmen were at the same time, being shown around the facility and the support worker was nowhere close by to help me out of such a humiliating situation.
“That was just one experience but believe me, to this day I have heard of many other far worse instances where people with disabilities have undergone moments of very impersonal service provision, often with workers who have next to no training. It happens and it happens frequently.”
The National Disability Strategy provides a ten-year national policy framework for improving life for Australians with disability, their families and carers.
It represents a commitment by all levels of government, industry and the community to present a unified, national approach to policy and program development. This Strategy aims to address the challenges faced by people with disability, both now and into the future.
This Forum will identify just how far we have come and what has yet to be done.
The Human Rights Forum is being held at a crucial time as we pass the halfway point in COAG’s 2010-2020 National Disability Strategy, says Dr Margaret Ward from Griffith’s Menzies Health Institute Queensland.
“Australia is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) and as such, we have an obligation to ensure that people with disabilities are not left in a position whereby their human rights may be compromised.
“This Forum will aim to review the six priority areas of the NDS to improve the lives of people with disability, identify the gaps in the 2015-2018 implementation plan and enlist action to ensure the original commitments made by COAG are met.”
“I did my first audition for the show with Julie Andrews — definitely one of the highlights of my career to date,” she said.
“It was nerve-wracking, but she was so warm and supportive that she just instantly put me at ease.
“It was hands down, my best audition experience ever.”
Coming full circle
The talented triple-threat performer is one of the ensemble cast and also an understudy for the lead role of Eliza.
The role has brought the Toowoomba-born performer full circle: it was a role in her high school production of My Fair Lady that inspired her to pursue musical theatre and led her to the Queensland Conservatorium.
“I only played a small role, but I realised that I loved performing,” she said.
An amazing training ground
Georgie was one of the first graduates from the Conservatorium’s musical theatre course, and said the degree had provided an excellent foundation for a career on stage.
“I chose the Con because it was an amazing training ground for musical theatre — my time there was such a dream,” she said.
“The head of the musical theatre program, Associate Professor Paul Sabey, is a genius. He has trained many of the performers working in London’s West End and was like a father to us all.”
Since graduating in 2014, Georgie has become one of the breakout stars on the Australian musical theatre scene.
In 2015, she was one six finalists for the prestigious Rob Guest Endowment Award, and received a Matilda Theatre Award for Best Emerging Artist, for her recent work in Queensland theatre.
On home turf
My Fair Lady opens at QPAC this week after a sell-out run at the Sydney Opera House. Georgie is thrilled about bringing the show to her home state.
“I’m so excited — I can’t wait to bring the show back to my home turf,” she said.
“My friends and family will be in the audience, which makes it really special.”
Ready and waiting
During the run, Georgie will perform eight shows a week in the ensemble. As understudy to the lead, she also has to be ready to step into the spotlight at a moment’s notice.
“Anna O’Byrne, who plays Eliza, is the most incredible performer with great technique and stamina, so she hasn’t had a performance off yet, but I’m ready and waiting!” she said.
“It is tough, but it keeps you on your toes.
“I practice the entire show in my living room a few nights a week to keep up my vocal stamina – my neighbours are probably very familiar with the show by now!”
All-star production
The show is directed by Dame Julie Andrews, who performed the lead role as a 21-year- old ingénue when the musical made its Broadway debut in 1956.
“Julie Andrews has been hands on every step of the way, and you can tell the theatre is her home,” Georgie said.
“She is very specific and knows exactly how to get what she wanted.
“When you see the show, you can feel the love she put into it.”
“I have never been surrounded by so many incredible actors in my life — every rehearsal is like an acting masterclass,” Georgie said.
“I just love soaking it all in.
“These are the finest actors in their field — it is a privilege to watch them work.”
Success on the small screen
The young performer has also branched into TV, taking a small role in Channel Seven’s recent mini-series, Hoges.
“TV is a very different medium, and it’s something I’d like to explore further,” she said.
“Working on Hoges was an amazing experience, just seeing how a professional set and crew works.
“I had a few days on set with Justine Clarke and Josh Lawson and they were consummate professionals.
“But theatre and TV are polar opposites — it’s like classical music and pop.”
Ups and downs of life on stage
Georgie’s advice for current musical theatre students is to be proactive about chasing down opportunities and resilient enough to bounce back when things don’t go your way.
“It’s all about keeping up the momentum,” she said.
“You have to be out looking for opportunities, auditioning, and keep bouncing back from the inevitable rejections.
“You might be successful at one in every ten auditions, so you have to learn how to cope with the ups and downs.
“Sometimes you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom, and other times you are soaring.”
Despite the ups and downs of life on the stage, the young star said she couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
“It is an amazing career, and the highs are euphoric,” she said.
“The pay-off is huge — why else would you put yourself through it!”
“I get so emotional at the end of a performance.
“You realise that you have shared something with the audience — most nights I have tears in my eyes.”
Australia is the only developed country in the world where children are suffering from trachoma, an endemic bacterial eye infection.
This is one of the key discussion points to be raised by Associate Professor Anne Roiko at the World Science Festival next week, as part of its Water Talks: The Dirt on water and disease.
Not unlike the common ‘pink-eye’ or conjunctivitis, repeated reinfection of trachoma, combined with the body’s immune reaction, often has devastating consequences.
In some of Australia’s remote indigenous populations, up to one in 20 children can be affected by the condition, which is preventable with adequate sanitation and clean water.
“Everyone in the world should ave access to clean, safe water and adequate sanitation but unfortunately this is not the case for all Australians,” Associate Professor Roiko from Griffith’s Menzies Health Institute Queenslandsaid.
“This country has not yet taken up and engaged with the 17 sustainable development goals as laid down by the United Nations and which encompass some of our fundamental human rights.
“Many assume that issues such as a lack of clean water only applies to undeveloped countries, but children are getting sick from unsafe water today in remote indigenous communities and this is not acceptable.”
An expert in environmental health, Associate Professor Roiko will also talk at the event, about the positive aspects of water and the health benefits that it can bestow.
Acall to establish anationalanti-corruption commission with wide-ranging powers, is one of the key outcomes generated from the National Integrity Conference held in Brisbane this week.
Professor David Grant (Pro Vice Chancellor Business) welcomes attendees to the TI conference 2017
The two-day think tank ended with the release of a discussion paper canvassing key issues for the design of a federal anti-corruption commissionas part of a fresh assessment of Australia’s systems of integrity, accountability and anti-corruption.
“With momentum gathering towards such a vital reform, it’s crucial that citizens and policymakers think seriously about these deep design issues,” Professor Brown said.
The paper includes perspectives from Transparency International Australia chairman Anthony Whealy QC, Flinders University Professor Adam Graycar and Professor Brown on the gaps and concerns in Australia’s institutions which are leading to calls for a new federal anti-corruption body.
“Sadly, Australia is a complacent nation when it comes to official corruption mainly because it’s not evident on the surface.
“Having a national anti-corruption agency will go a long way to addressing public concerns and bringing illicit behaviourout in the open”, Mr Whealy QC said.
We all know water is important, but have you ever thought about how our consumption of this precious resource affects the environment around us?
Leading water experts will tackle complex issues associated with a resource1.2 billion people lack access to when World Science Festival Brisbane launches next week coinciding with World Water Day.
“The major challenge for science and society is to balance the water needs for humans and nature,” he said.
“How do we meet basic human needs for safe drinking water and water supply for food production – yet also ensure that aquatic ecosystems and other services they provide are protected?
“Our science is showing we cannot sustain the old ways of water management – ‘to impair then repair’.
“We need a new approach to tackle problems of water supply and quality at their source – and this is something we work on now at the Australian Rivers Institute.”
For more info on Griffith University’s events at #WSFBrisbane visit our website.
The series of free events are part of an exciting program called 100 Ways to Listen, which explores the crossroads where music meets science and celebrates the innovative music-making of the Conservatorium’s all-star faculty and students.
The science of sound will be unpacked through performances, installations and sound walks. From a new composition played on 84 pianos across the Conservatorium simultaneously, to music inspired by quantum physics and a large scale interactive music technology installation, there is something for science nerds and music buffs alike.
These sonic experiments will culminate in a publication launched in July to coincide with World Listening Day.
Time Crystals
Associate Professor Vanessa Tomlinson and Dr Erik Griswold have teamed up to create a ‘choose-your-own musical adventure’, debuting a new piecethat will be played by 84 pianists across the Conservatorium at the same time.
They will also perform Time Crystals, a composition inspired by the work of Nobel-winning physicist Frank Wilczek, who proposed the idea of perpetually moving, multi-dimensional structures. The piece transforms the principles of hard science into sound structures, performed on a prepared piano and a variety of percussion instruments.
“Much like scientists, we propose these experiments and try and find out what happens when we realise them,” Associate Professor Tomlinson said.
“The concept of a time crystal into sound is one experiment.
“Another experiment is what happens when we sound 84 pianos in the Conservatorium simultaneously.
“We are sonic investigators.”
Sonic Playground
Dr. John Ferguson has created a large scale music technology installation, Sonic Playground, which will take over the Queensland Conservatorium foyer during the World Science Festival.
“It’s going to be awesome,” he said.
“We’re using technology to ask questions about art and music, and what other forms of listening are there.”
Sonic Environments
Dr. Leah Barclay is running a series of interactive augmented reality sound walks across South Bank, as part of Sonic Environments, which allows people to listen to interactive soundscapes triggered by GPS.
“These interactive experiences are a balance between art and science, and they are designed to inspire people to listen at a time when it’s particularly important to listen to the environment,” she said.
Griffith University researchers will further their fight to protect the Great Barrier Reef after new research revealed its resilience is rapidly waning.
The collaborative study between institutions across the world, published in the prestigious journal Nature today, examined whether past exposure to bleaching in 1998 and 2002 made reefs any more tolerant in 2016. Sadly researchers found no evidence that past bleaching makes the corals any tougher.
Associate Professor Guillermo Diaz-Pulido and Dr Emma Kennedy, of Griffith’s School of Environment and the Australian Rivers Institute, contributed key coral bleaching data from the southern Great Barrier Reef to the paper, amid current concerns about coral bleaching occurring for a second year in a row.
“Our group looks at what happens after the coral dies from beaching and when it gets invaded by seaweed. That’s important because seaweeds could inhibit the recovery of the coral, ultimately affecting the resilience of the reef, and its precious future” Associate Professor Diaz-Pulido says.
Coral researchers are now conducting aerial and underwater surveys along the reef and elsewhere in Australia as bleaching reappears, following last year’s event when scorching temperatures caused the worst coral bleaching on record.
Teams will spend the next few weeks in the air and underwater measuring the extent of the damage from this summer compared to last.
“We’re hoping that the next 2-3 weeks will cool off quickly, and this year’s bleaching won’t be anything like last year. The severity of the 2016 bleaching was off the chart,” explains lead author of the study, Professor Terry Hughes, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University.
“It was the third major bleaching to affect the Great Barrier Reef, following earlier heatwaves in 1998 and 2002. Now we’re gearing up to study a potential number four.”
The study also reveals that protecting reefs from fishing, and improving water quality, makes no difference to the amount of bleaching during extreme heatwaves, although it might help them recover in the longer term.
“It broke my heart to see so many corals dying on northern reefs on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016,” says Prof. Hughes, who led the expansive aerial surveys. “With rising temperatures due to global warming, it’s only a matter of time before we see more of these events. A fourth event after only one year would be a major blow to the reef.”
The paper Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals, by 46 co-authors, appears today in the journal Nature.
Photo credit: Greg Torda, bleached coral north of Townsville, March 2017.
