Classnotes

1960s

Having retired from teaching at Huntingtower School, Mt Waverley, Terry Mason (BSc 1967, DipEd 1968, BEd 1972) is following his dream of becoming a farmer and is growing ginseng on his country property. Lee Poh Aun (PhD 1968) now heads the School of Information Technology at Monash University Malaysia.

Wendy Verhagen (née Cooper) (BA 1964, DipEd 1990) is president of WinAccom, a group providing accommodation to support those with mild intellectual disabilities. Meanwhile, Ian Yule (BA 1965, DipEd 1966) has left for Guangzhou, China, to prepare students for VCE.

1970s

Mary-Clare Adam (BA 1975) was appointed in May 2004 as honorary consul-general of Papua New Guinea in Israel. Now living in Tasmania, Belinda Kendall-White (MEd 1979) is involved with the overseas educational program CO-ID, which works to fund the building of primary schools in Bangladesh.

Geoffrey Kelly (BEc 1970) retired as a partner of Bentleys MRI Chartered Accountants and is now studying computer information systems in Palm Desert, California. Bruce Anderson (BE 1978) works as a network administrator at Hillcrest Christian College in Clyde North, Victoria. He is also a keen dancer.

After 12 years of service at Hong Kong International Airport, Bruce Benjamin (BE 1977) is now project head of the Hyderabad International Airport in India, while fellow engineer Colin McAndrew (BE w/hons 1978) lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and was one of four Australians in 2004 to be elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. After a career in organisational psychology and HR, Chris Stranger (BA 1974, BEd 1980) travelled to Western Australia, where she is now working in injury management. Carmel McNaught (BSc(Hons) 1971, DipEd 1972, MEd 1978) has been an academic for more than 30 years and is now professor of learning enhancement at the Chinese University of Hong Kong , while David Hughes (BSc 1973, DipEd 1974) teaches mathematics for the University of the Third Age.

Brian Wright (BA 1972, LLB 1974) was recently appointed as a magistrate in Victoria. After developing property in Spain, Jamie Juriansz (BA 1975) has returned to the Gold Coast to work in residential real estate. Judith McDonald (BA 1974) now lives in the Latrobe Valley and is teaching at Trafalgar High School. Geoff Winter (BEc 1970) has retired after 34 years working for the Commonwealth and now enjoys building sets for an amateur theatre company.

Geoff Pryor (DipEd 1970, BEd 1976, MEd 1979) is a representative of Lodden-Campaspe Presbytery on Commission for Mission, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, and has self-published his family history. Khalid Bin Abdul Kadir (BMedSc 1974, MB BS 1975, PhD 1979) is now professor of medicine at Monash University Malaysia.

Based in Afghanistan, Adele Jones (BA 1979, BEd 1981, MEdSt 1984, PhD 1989) is national education program manager for the Aga Khan Foundation. After working with Esso in Australia, David Ffrench (BE 1979) now lives in Texas and is global head of environmental services with Exxon Mobil. David Chin (BE w/hons 1974, GradDipDataProc 1979, MEng 1982) is a systems auditor for the Taiwan High Speed Rail Project. Simon Rosenbaum (MB BS 1975) practises cosmetic surgery in South Yarra and Brisbane.

1980s

Newly appointed captain Taufik Idrus OAM (BE 1985) has just returned from serving in Iraq with the Royal Australian Navy. Anid Chong (BEc(Hons) 1981) is principal of an English language centre in Kuala Lumpur . Also in Malaysia, Chin Low (BEc 1983) is a financial consultant at Walton International Group, and Leonard Abdul Shatar (BEc 1987, LLB 1988) has been appointed managing director of ICI Paints in Malaysia.

Working in Buenos Aires, Ignacio Alperin Bruvera (LLB 1986, BJuris 1986) is commercial director for the Federation Cup and Davis Cup tennis tournaments in Argentina. Athol Yates (BE 1986) has been appointed director of the Australian Homeland Security Research Centre.

Donna Weston (BSc(Hons) 1983) is community information coordinator for the West Australian Department of Environment. Gillian Montgomery (DipEd 1980) is a massage therapist, specialising in manual lymph drainage. After working as a pre-school field officer and kindergarten director, Christine Rokebrand (née Schultz) (DipTeach(EC) 1990) is now a mother of two.

1990s

Stargazing: Amanda Karakas is a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Computational Astrophysics at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Krystyna Szokolai (BSc 1994) was a women's football referee at the Athens Olympics. Grant Stillman (PhD 1991) has been appointed senior administrative officer and legal adviser to the Asian Development Bank's Tokyo Institute. Sameer Saxena (MDigComms 1999) provides specialist IT security advice to organisations through his Mumbai-based firm, Knox Consulting.

Sara Lloyd (BSc(Hons) 1998, MEngSc(Research) 1998) was named 2004 CRC Young Water Scientist of the Year. Meanwhile, Ben Ferguson (BE(Mech) 1998) was named 2004 David Norman Young Engineer of the Year for his contributions to the Norman Disney & Young Melbourne office fire safety engineering team.

Kevin Chang (BSc 1998) recently returned to Australia after 12 months in Fiji as an Australian youth ambassador. Rebecca Weymouth (AssocDipArts(WelfSt) 1995, BSocWk 1997) is working in outreach support with intellectually disabled adults who live independently. Andrew Parsons (BA 1991) has been appointed head of vocational education at Braunton Community College in North Devon (UK). Margaret Gray (BBus 1997) is teaching HSC economics, business studies and information processes and technology at the Australian International High School, Sydney. Also in Sydney, David Rix (GradDipEd 1996) is a pilot for Qantaslink, flying Dash 8s and training staff in crew resource management and aircraft performance.

Based in New York , Indran Purushothaman (GradDipBkg&Fin 1994, MBA(IntBus)1995) is founding director of management consultancy IP Financials. Anthony Maeder (PhD 1992) is the research director at the new CSIRO Information and Communications Technology Centre in Queensland. Antonietta Colantuono (DipAppSci(Nurs) 1992) is an RN at Cabrini Hospital , working in the cardiothoracic ward. Leigh Carson (BBus(RetailMgt) 1999) has been appointed CEO of Australian Retail Logistix Limited. Scott Richardson (MBA 1992) is celebrating the seventh year of his company, Enterprise Information Management Ltd, which provides business intelligence services to many UK organisations.

Sarah Maddison (BSc(Hons) 1993, PhD 1998) and Amanda Karakas (BSc(Hons) 1998, PhD 2004) are both astronomers. Sarah lectures in astrophysics at Swinburne University, while Amanda is a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Computational Astrophysics at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. James Yap (GradDipAcc 1993) works as a senior group financial/operational auditor at Coles Myer Ltd. Elizabeth Anders (MTESOL 1999) has created her own education consultancy, Sankara Consulting. David Lin (MRepSc1993) is an associate professor at Chung Shan Medical University in Taiwan. Phang Sweet Ping (BEc 1991, LLB 1993) is a partner with Kuala Lumpur law firm Messrs Albar & Partners. Also in Malaysia , Steven Wong Tuck Wai (BComp(CompSc) 1996) is a financial adviser and software developer at AIA, and Jacky Yap-Chee Jin (BCom(Acc&Fin) 1999) is the marketing director at Food Guide Resources.

2000s

Jonathan Morrow (PhD 2001) has been advising the UN on post-conflict constitutional development in East Timor and Afghanistan and is now a Rule of Law adviser with the US Institute of Peace. In Papua New Guinea , Allan Baniyamai (LLM 2000) has established a private legal practice, and Anne Albert (BNurs(PostReg) 2004) is now deputy director of nursing at Alotau Hospital .

Simon Pelletier (BA 2000, PGradDipArts(IntRel) 2000) manages cinema advertising at Moonlight Projects, which owns and operates Moonlight Cinema. Terri Albert (GradDipMktg 2000, MMktg 2001) has been promoted to director of business development with Cardinal Health, Melbourne.

Based in Hong Kong, Chun Lam (MMS 2004) is a consultant with Global Technology Integrator. Melissa Viner (BBus(Mgt) 2001, BBus(Mktg) 2003) has returned to Australia after working as a senior account executive with Interface Marketing Solutions in the UK . Belinda Hughes (BA 2003, BEd 2003) teaches at Belvedere Park Primary School, Seaford. Michelle Wee (BBus(Mgt)/BBus(Mktg) 2003) is a product manager at OneSteel, and Michelle Gradwell (BBus(Acc) 2003) is an accountant with Maxwell Brown & Mountjoy.

Jemma Watkins (BNutrDietet 2004) is enjoying her work as a community nutritionist on islands in the Torres Strait. Now based in southern Germany, Nicola Wilkins (BA/BEMech w/hons 2001) works in renewable energy and rural electrification for a consulting company specialising in international development projects. Sandesh Kale (MDigComms 2003) is a software engineer with Accenture in India, while Aries Susanto (MIT 2004) is a project manager with Bank Central Asia in Jakarta. Also in Indonesia, Patrick Simanjuntak (MBA 2001) is a senior product manager with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and Sulasmi (MHlthServMgt 2001) is a medical officer for the World Health Organisation in Aceh.

Feeding community spirit: Jemma Watkins works as a community nutritionist on islands in the Torres Strait.

In addition to teaching English and ESL in schools and TAFEs around Melbourne , playwright and poet Gaylene Carbis (BA(Hons) 2001, GradDipEd(Sec) 2003) has recently had her work performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has one play scheduled for production at La Mama. Eva Konopcik (BComn 2002) is the marketing coordinator for EXCOM Education. Cheong Yian-Hun is overseeing the business development division of MAN Ferrostaal from its ASEAN regional office in Kuala Lumpur.