This Wasn’t the Plan
But I’m Glad It Happened
The Pivot
I started at IComm in January of 2024, working two days a week, fresh out of Year 12 and just beginning a psychology degree at La Trobe. But by mid-semester something felt off. I dropped out (HECS debt and all) and hit pause to figure things out.
By Semester 2, I’d transferred into a Bachelor of Professional Communication at RMIT, majoring in Advertising and Public Relations. I wasn’t exactly eager yet, but I just knew I needed to move. That choice reshaped my studies and my mindset.
Finding My Place
Truth is, I’ve always been creative. As a kid, I was forever sketching, painting, designing, writing, and diving headfirst into pop culture. Communications gave me a place to tie all those threads together and finally make sense of the way my brain works.
Now, with a year and a bit of my degree behind me and just over a year and a half at IComm, I’ve realised how much the two worlds feed each other. The theory I learn in class makes sense because I’ve watched it unfold in real time. And the work feels more meaningful because I understand the “why” behind it.
Lessons from IComm
Working with Dan and Georgia from our Adopt + Innovate team has given me a front-row seat to the rise of Microsoft Copilot and the behind-the-scenes work that makes adoption possible. It’s shown me that the work I love most is people-led, purposeful, and strategic.
Another big milestone was helping launch our new website. Stressful? Absolutely. But the biggest lesson I took away was that you can’t do everything alone. I’ve always been allergic to asking for help, but being in a collaborative, supportive team made all the difference.
I’ve also learned to be a sponge. Most days I don’t feel like the smartest person in the room and that’s the point. Whether it’s a one-on-one with Rob, or a chat with Adrian or Dan or Stuart, I always walk away with a new perspective (sometimes on business, sometimes on life).
Small Wins, Big Impact
Since joining, I’ve helped grow our LinkedIn presence, introduced recurring posts like Friday Finds, and even generated new leads through content. I have recently had heaps of fun with designing unique internal communications through AppSpace with some help from Canva, Figma and the Adobe Suite, which has been super fun. Watching a random idea in my Notes app turn into something real (and actually work) has been surreal.
Lifelong Learning
They say the average person will have up to seven different careers in their lifetime. Honestly, that excites me more than it scares me. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned so far, it’s that you should never stop feeding your brain.
At work, I’m constantly amazed by how sharp and experienced everyone around me is. It inspires me to keep learning, sometimes about business, but also about random things that catch my attention. I go down rabbit holes on film, history, music, fashion, poets, authors… you name it. It gets overwhelming, but I remind myself: I’ve got a lifetime to learn. The TBR pile can wait.
Outside of work, my love for reading, writing, and film are all part of how I express myself creatively. They may not all link directly to my degree or my role, but together they shape how I see the world. I think that curiosity and that hunger to keep learning, is what will carry me through not just this career, but the next six too.
The Honest Bit
Though I am technically a nepo baby, I’m also someone who showed up fresh out of Year 12 with no idea what I was doing, trying to learn, figure it out, and hold my own. I care. I listen. I ask questions. I get things wrong. I keep trying.
If there’s one takeaway from this, it’s this: Don’t be afraid to pivot. Ask the questions. Make the mistakes. Start again if you need to. Just stay curious, stay humble, and never be too embarrassed to pitch that Gen Z idea.
