In Principio v18 no2 (2007)

Mark Sheen Bachelor of Commerce 1997 After completing my Commerce degree at Notre Dame in 1997, I lived in the Western Australian rural town of Katan ning where I worked for a year w ith an accounting firm. In 1998 I went to Sweden and then continued through Europe and around the United Kingdom. I returned to Perth where I picked up a variety of work and decided then to leave the accounting profession. 1999 saw me travel to New Zealand (NZ) where I started 'proper ' mountaineering. It was in NZ that my passion for climbing became my focus! After doing some more travelling in Australia, I went to Pakistan for my first high altitude climb - a 7027m peak. After this experience, I became totally hooked and the idea of Everest was born. I worked in the mining game for several years which also gave me the opportunity to travel to places like Argentina, Hong Kong and Indonesia . It wasn't until 2006 that I eventually returned to Pakistan to test myself on a hig her peak known as Broad Peak, an 8047m mountain. After this experience, followed by some walks across Oman, I f inally felt I was ready for Everest. I left for the 'mountain' on April 3 and summited from the Tibetan side on June 5th 2007. I was relieved and excited w hen I reached the top, but knew I had to keep focused as only half the climb was done as you have to get back down 1 My success on Everest has inadvertently launched me into the motivational speaking circuit, sharing my experiences with organisations such as AFL football teams, charities, large corporations, small businesses, schools and universities. I have fond memories of my time as a business student at UNDA, particularly of some of the lecturers in those early days, such as Peter Dallimore, John Wood, Justin Walawski, Joel Dando and Robin Tunnecliffe. As for the future, I am looking forward to mountain climbing across the world and aim to do some long walks in Australia and Antarctica at least. Emilia Hay Bachelor of Counselling 2002 I had always wanted to go to university but life seemed to take me in many other directions, mai nly travel, marriage, child ren and businesses. During a pause in my work life I saw t he advertisement for the inaugural counselling degree at Notre Dame and was immediately interested . The entire process of enrolling and engaging with Notre Dame was an extremely positive experience for me . The people and atmosphere were very welcoming, friendly and extremely supportive and what a bonus to study in such beautiful buildings in Fremantle. During the course, I undertook some training at Holyoake, an organisation which works with people who are affected by addictions. I was extremely impressed with the philosophy and ethos of Holyoake and really resonated wit h the way the counsellors worked with their clients and the success they were achieving. Upon completion of my degree I approached Holyoake to volunteer my time in order to gain some experience. They took me on and within 6 months I was working, part– time, facilitating therapeut ic groups. As opportun ities came up I took on more and more challenges. I have now been at Holyoake for over four years and have recently been promoted to Clinica l Team Manager. I am responsible for the team which works with adults who are affected by someone who has problems with alcohol or other drugs and adults who grew up in a family where this was an issue. I also work with people who are struggling with their own addictions. 18 months ago I undertook some professional development in Canada in the area of couples counselling and am respon sible for the development of this area at Holyoake. The work is varied, challenging and extremely rewarding. Notre Dame prepared me extremely well for my role at Holyoake. I believe t he very practical aspects of the course gave me a distinct advantage when entering this field of work and enabled me to accelerate my progress to my current position . Gay Ward Doctor of Phi losophy 2002 Completing a Ph .D. at Notre Dame had a maJor impact on my life story. Having researched the use of narrative in t eaching for my doctoral thesis under the guidance of Professor Ann Zubrick, it was nat ural for me to begin valuing the importance of personal narrative. Much of what I do in my current position as Associate Professor of Early Childhood and Literacy at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, highlights the universal themes and plot lines related to teaching, research and service that I identified as being critical while teaching and studying at the Fremantle campus. At t he University of Wisconsin-River Falls, I teach courses in literacy research and children's literat ure as well as several early childhood education courses - all of which have evolved from methodologies and philosophies explored in ·western Australia. My professional journey has also been a multicultural experience . I have t ravelled to South Korea and Taiwan teaching ba lanced literacy in Montessori education and I most recently helped launch a new commun ity environmental project based in middle school. In 2006, my family and I brought thirteen student teachers to Pert h who claim that their experiences at five Western Australian schools changed their lives and pedagogies in very positive ways. We will return with another group in 2008 ! My current passion is endeavouring to create outdoor classrooms that will reconnect children to nature even in climates not as conducive to this as Australia's. I attended a world forum on t his topic which inspired my colleagues and me to have a nature focus in the comprehensive early childhood major we are designing. Thank you Notre Dame for nourishing my mind, spirit, and sense of wonder! 27 • )> r C s: z