Where are they now!

After high school I had ambitions to become a dentist so studied Health Science at the University of Otago. I realised that this was not quite the profession I wanted to pursue, so switched to study a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing Management and two minors in Entrepreneurship and Information Science.

I graduated University in 2019 and landed a role on the grad program at Unilever. I spent three and half years across 4 different roles, learning the ins and outs of one of the world’s largest fast moving consumer goods companies. Majority of my time was spent in the ice cream team, and my final role was a Category Manager across brands including Streets, Magnum, Ben & Jerry’s, and Paddle Pop.

Then in 2023 I was approached by a recruiter for a role at Google, so I pivoted my career towards the digital world. I now work as a Google Ads Partner Manager in our Auckland office.

Most people don’t know what they want to do after high school, and I certainly never expected I’d end up here! So be open to change and enjoy the journey of discovering and learning new things along the way.

It has been a while since my graduation in 2015!

The last few years have certainly been eventful, but they have led me to where I am today, working as a Junior Doctor in Christchurch Hospital. 

My journey started as a Health Science First Year student in 2016, undertaking the infamous year for entrance into speciality programs and science degrees. I did not go to a hall and stayed home as a local student, which had pros and cons. Otago has a fantastic locals program with great social support and tutorials, and I found these hugely helpful. Health Sciences was a very busy year, and I was faced with the reality that the majority of my grades came from final exams, rather than internal-based tests - as someone who had thrived on internals and painting at high school this was quite a shock! After a crash course on how to effectively study, I completed the year and moved on to study for a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences in Reproduction, Genetics and Development. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my Biomedical science degree and the flexibility of being able to choose the majority of my papers. Each summer I undertook a ‘Summer Studentship’ (research scholarship) which was very useful for gaining research skills and earning some income during the university break. At the end of my degree, I was faced with quite a dilemma as I had decided to apply - and was then accepted for - an Honours scholarship and medical school. While I enjoyed research, I decided to pursue medicine as I enjoyed the idea of face-to-face interactions with patients each day, while also being able to research. 

Medical school was fantastic and I found my previous degree very helpful during the first few years of study. Being a postgrad student meant that I had developed efficient study skills, and I used my spare time to go to Unipol gym, take part in student clubs, organise conferences and plan social events (although COVID made things difficult at times). In my 4th year of study, I moved to Christchurch to complete my final three years of placement in the hospital. During this time I also became involved in the national student-led Dermatology Interest Group, undertaking the role of President in 2022. This was an amazing opportunity and a great way to increase the accessibility of Dermatology to Otago-based students. Overall, Christchurch has been a fantastic place to study, and is now a great place to work!

Looking back, I don’t think I could have predicted the journey I have had since graduation, but I have loved every moment and have no regrets. Medicine is a fantastic career but it requires a lot of study and exams (which don’t end after you graduate), and it can also take a toll on your emotions at times. Resilience is important, but good support is also fundamental. If you are interested in the sciences and enjoy being hands-on at work - then medicine is a career you should consider. Getting into medical school is still difficult, but I hope my journey has helped to show that there are a few ways to enter the program, and you can still explore your favourite sciences along the way!

After finishing at St Hilda's I studied at University of Otago, graduating with a BA in Anthropology. While studying, I went on exchange to the University of Bristol in the UK. From this point on, I had well and truly caught the travel bug - and this more or less shaped my path from here on out! 

After graduating I worked at Otago Museum as a Science Communicator. While I loved being able to work with the museum collections, I realised what I really enjoyed most was interacting with the international visitors and hearing about the different places they had been. Because of this I moved to Wellington in 2021 and completed a GradDip in tourism management, while getting the chance to work at Te Papa as well! 

Finally, in August last year (once things were a bit more 'back to normal') I made the big move over to the UK, and I'm now based in London working in operations for a company called Audley Travel. I won't lie, the initial move and getting set up largely on my own was tough. The uncertainty and stress of finding a new job, a place to live, opening a bank account, making friends... There were many times where I asked myself "was this really worth it?", "did I make the right choice?" but I think ultimately, this experience has really helped build my confidence, and I'm so fortunate now to have a group of friends from all over the world!

I know many of you will be making big decisions right now, and like me you'll probably have a "did I make the right choice?" moment, too. My biggest piece of advice: Trust yourself! Even if things turn out differently than what you expected, it's important to be proud that you got out there and tried it, and remember that each new experience - the good and the bad - is an opportunity to learn and grow. 

Enrol in that course no one else is taking, take that job offer in a new city, go teach English in Japan - whatever it is, you got this!

Running a designer-dress rental business and a make-up business isn’t all glitz and glamour, it’s a lot of hard work, too.

Graduate Diploma in Marketing student Shanae Barton started her first businesses - SB Dress Hire and Make Up by Shanae - in 2022.

Shanae saw the business as a way to build up her own wardrobe, while also making money from renting to people who might not otherwise be able to afford to purchase and wear the top-of-the-line dresses themselves.

“You only wear them once; the dress is going out on multiple occasions to different people and they’re all getting to enjoy it,” she says.

“It’s also a bit more sustainable too, rather than buying multiple dresses for multiple events.”

The dress-hire business is going well now but took a while to ramp up.

“You come into a market, and you’ve got build your name up, build up your reputation for people to trust you, and also, with dress rental obviously you’re renting out designer garments and they’re expensive to buy.

“You’re not going to start with 50 different dresses to rent out, you’ve got to slowly build up your collection.”

Initially with fewer dresses available fewer people were interested but as the collection grew, so too did business; “that’s when you get more traction”.

Shanae says she’s always had an interest in making art and during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 she was able to channel her creativity into various make-up looks. She started an Instagram account documenting her looks at the behest of her friends, and in 2022 she started taking clients.

Her make-up business is also doing well.

“Especially during ball season, you’ve got all the school balls.”

She gets a lot of clients attending 21st birthday parties, too.

Shanae’s advice to any students looking to start their own business it to “just do it” but be prepared to work hard.

“I think a big misconception, especially for rental business, is that it’s super easy. And while it’s not the hardest job in the world, it’s definitely not easy.”

While the majority of Shanae’s customers are amazing, there have been the odd few situations where she has unhappy customers which she says gives her the chance to grow as a business owner.

“You’ve got to deal with customers who aren’t always going to be happy, unfortunately you can’t please everyone.

“You have to try and navigate ways to come to a solution that is suitable for both parties. I do think they’re good learning opportunities.”

Another consideration with rental businesses such as hers, renting expensive goods, is they cost a lot of money.

“At the start, you’re not getting bookings every weekend, so you’re investing a lot of your own money.”

New business owners need to be prepared to invest their own money, and then keep investing any money made back into the business to keep it growing, Shanae says.

“It may be a while before you can actually make a profit.

“And it’s very time consuming. I think people are like ‘oh, self-employed, you get to work whatever hours you want’. But I think, when you’re self-employed you work more than you would if you were working for someone else, because time is money.”

Kōrero by internal communications adviser, Koren Allpress

Otago University - Koren Allpress

After finishing at St Hildas, I went to ARA Institute of Canterbury in Christchurch to study a Bachelor in Medical Imaging. Around 50% of the degree is on placement, as a practical learner I really enjoyed this aspect! I graduated with my degree at the end of 2018 and started working as a radiographer at Dunedin Public Hospital in December 2018. 

I worked in X-Ray, performing a range of imaging including going to theatre cases, working with trauma patients and a range of in and outpatients. I trained as a CT radiographer in 2021, continuing to work at Dunedin Hospital until the start of 2023. Radiography is an exciting career, seeing a variety of patients; from new borns to the elderly, for numerous reasons. Every day is different, so I never get bored. As someone who loves to talk, I enjoy getting to chat to a bunch of different patients every day. Radiology also tends to have a lot of staff and I'm lucky to have met some of my best friends working in radiology!

In February 2023 I moved to London and am still based here. I work as a senior locum radiographer and am currently based at St Mary's Hospital, one of London's leading trauma hospitals. We get a huge range of patients coming through and traumas here are very different to trauma incidents in NZ which means I have had lots of opportunity to upskill while working here. We've also just finished filming a show following a trauma patient's journey through the hospital, so working in front of a camera has been a new experience for me! (Coming to Netflix in the middle of 2025!) It's pretty busy but as I locum, I also get to pick when I work. meaning that I have a super flexible work schedule and unlimited leave. As a result I get to travel between London and Europe a lot which I am super grateful for.  

For any students who aren't sure what they want to do after they graduate, I would encourage you to try and shadow in various areas of fields you're interested in. Until I worked in the hospital, I didn't even know half of these jobs existed - you might just stumble upon your dream career after not even knowing it was a job!

I have always loved aquaculture and have been passionately dissecting fish since I was 5 years old! After completing my Veterinary Medicine degree in New Zealand in 2015, I joined Huon Aquaculture as a company Veterinarian. I am now the Group Fish Health Manager, responsible for fish health, welfare and biosecurity management across all sites.

I'm now working in my dream job as an Aquaculture Veterinarian in Tasmania. I love working in this industry as there is always so much innovation and research to get involved with.

Huon Aquaculture is a large enterprise, producing 36,000T of Atlantic Salmon and Rainbow Trout annually. Being a vertically integrated company, working at Huon has given me extensive experience in aquaculture management beyond the scope of regular veterinary roles. My responsibilities span all phases of the production cycle, and I have worked up from a role that focused on day-to-day fish health management, to higher level strategic planning and leadership of teams across all facets of animal health, welfare, and biosecurity.

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Jasmine was named by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority as top scholarship student, visual arts - painting in 2010 for her portfolio featuring works using extinct bird species as a metaphor for how New Zealand has been classified as an idealised country. She was interested in how museums classify and display their contents, and examined the concepts of the artificial versus the real.

While Jasmine still enjoys painting in her spare time, the focus of her work has moved from birds to fish.

After finishing my last year of high school in 2015, I decided to take a gap year in 2016. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to participate in an AFS exchange program in Denmark, where I lived with a Danish host family for a year.

I was captivated by the architecture in Denmark and already knew that a career in the creative industry was the path I wanted to pursue after high school, so upon returning to New Zealand I attended Victoria University in Wellington and completed my bachelors and masters degrees in professional architecture in early 2022. 

During my time at University I developed a strong passion for public architecture and the beauty of universal design - a process focused on designing spaces for all users. My final years thesis revolved around reimagining the design of an Acute Mental Health facility through therapeutic architecture. 

After university, my career led me to Auckland, where I joined the architecture firm Jasmax. I've been with this company for nearly 3 years now, working in the transport and infrastructure team. My daily projects have included work on the Auckland City Rail Link underground train network, and I feel privileged to be involved with projects that emphasise people, environment, culture, and sustainability.

My advice to students who are about to finish year 13 would be: Don’t hesitate to take a moment to pause and truly consider what you would like to do after high school; my gap year significantly influenced the person I am today!

Also, remember to utilise the help and support of your teachers at school. When I was there, I spent the majority of my time in either the art room or the textiles class and these passionate teachers helped support me in turning my love of art and design into a successful career.

Since leaving St Hilda’s I went on and studied a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) at the University of Otago. While at University I was able to do an exchange to Bocconi University in Milan, with fellow alumni Molly Stewart. I ended up picking Milan because I had taken Art History with Mr Huggett and wanted to be as close to Florence as possible! 

During my time at St Hilda’s I was lucky enough to be in Mr Rosenbergs economics class, and he encouraged me to apply for a school leavers scholarship at PwC, which I won. So after a summer internship I began working (during a lockdown) in 2021 in PwCs Corporate Finance team in Auckland. I had a wonderful two years in the team, getting to work with great people and on really interesting mergers & acquisitions projects. I also made the most of flexible working and spent three months down in Dunedin in 2022 playing basketball professionally for the Southern Hoiho.

In May last year I left Aotearoa spent four months travelling throughout Europe and Northern Africa, before moving to Amsterdam in September. I’m currently working for Strategy& in the Deals Strategy team, and thus far have absolutely loved living and working here. Besides the amazing travel opportunities, getting to live and work in a new country with completely different culture / language etc has been incredibly rewarding.

For the girls leaving school at the end of the year, I would encourage them to be open-minded about their studies and careers. Your first job doesn’t necessarily have to be your dream job, but try to deliberate about taking the opportunities as they arise (especially the ones you don’t feel 100% ready for) and seek out aspirational mentors - they will make a world of difference to your progress. 

Finally, always try to take up as much space in the world as you dare; learn to see the value of your contribution, find the courage to make your value known to others (the boys will never be as humble as you…) and never let politeness or fear stop you from telling people what you want. If I’ve learnt anything in my job it’s that the world comes to those who dare to ask; deserving something is one thing, but earning something often means having to ask for it! 

From deep down in Dunedin, she's traveled to over 30 countries in 6 continents, was Dux in 2019, went to Brazil for a quick business trip, been a lead role in a short film, volunteered on a world challenge expedition, been a CEO of her own company, casually talked with astronauts at CASE Space School and now, Tamara's next journey is to continue her passion for learning by studying Aerospace Engineering graduating at the end of 2024.

Tamara's mission is to make waves in the Space Industry. The space industry is around 60 years young and has already made incredible progress in technology, both for space exploration and for civilization at home, which indicates the next 50 years will be full of advancements that we are unable to even picture at this point and that's what she wants to be apart of.

She has a strong self-confidence sparked from debating & drama experience and uses this to create her own opportunities. Tamara brings humor to any environment she is in, while still working hard to beat deadlines and reach for her goals.

Tamara has enjoyed involvement in a variety of activities since being at university. Most notably is her position as a Junior engineer on the university's motorsports team, and her time as co-president for Sydney Women in Aerospace Engineering. From her strong involvement and passion for education, Tamara was invited to be a guest speaker at the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit for 2023, where she shared her thoughts on tertiary education to 500 international academic leaders.

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My journey after school is somewhat unconventional, and it took me a while to find what I wanted to do. Initially after leaving school, I moved to Palmerston North to study pre-vet, intending to go to veterinary school. During the first semester, I decided to put my mental health first and pulled out of pre-vet, and moved back to Dunedin to recharge and recoup. I had help from my extended family in Tekapo to get me back on my feet with a cleaning and accommodation job which lasted 3 months. I came back to Dunedin, eventually finding a job at The Bund Cafe in the Octagon, working both day and evening shifts in a busy summer and cruise ship season. I then decided to return to study, on the Level 4 Certificate in Information Technology Essentials at Otago Polytechnic. After completing this, I decided not to continue with the degree, and instead moved to Aoraki Mt Cook Village to work as a Food & Beverage Attendant at the Hermitage Hotel. I stayed through renovations and moving restaurants, and eventually finished after a year in this role to spend time with family. The next January, I got a temporary job through Your People Recruitment to work at ACC in the Document Management team. This was a rewarding and challenging role, and eventually got taken on as a permanent member and training others in certain parts of the job.

I then finished this role in November, and went travelling with my family to Europe over the holiday period, having applied for the Bachelor of Medical Imaging (BMI). Just before leaving NZ, I was put on the waitlist, eventually not being offered a place in the 2020 intake, and studying the Level 4 Certificate in Study and Career Preparation through Ara in Christchurch. We all know what happened to 2020: four weeks in, COVID lockdowns hit, and I completed the semester virtually, finishing in June. I got another job at ACC in Lodgement while I submitted my application for the BMI programme once again, and eventually was accepted, and offered a training position in Dunedin. I finished up at ACC in January 2021, and moved to Christchurch for the first academic term, moving approximately 12 times in the next three years for academic study in Christchurch, and for clinical placements in Dunedin and Timaru. I qualified in December 2023 having gotten a job in Dunedin. I have now been working six months, doing outpatient, inpatient and Emergency Department (ED) xrays, mobile xrays with a different machine, going into the operating theatre to assist in Orthopaedic, Urology and General Surgery cases, and doing a full shift roster including solo night shifts. It is such a rewarding job, and a pleasure to be a part of such a great department. Its also a great career that offers additional study in MRI, Ultrasound and Nuclear Medicine, along with CT and Interventional Radiology, and the degree transfers to both Australia and the UK if you want to work overseas.