On the final day of thank-you-mas…
I would like to thank my mentor M.
Thank you for:
Giving me your valuable time
Listening to my thoughts, ideas, concerns
Providing me your advice
Encouraging me to bring my ideas to fruition
M, embodies the qualities that I have always sought in a mentor. I am able to better myself because of his advice.
Thank you!
On the eleventh day of thank-you-mas…
I would like to thank the AWSN Cadets Melbourne committee. I knowI have talked about the Cadets before, but I really want to highlight the impact of the work they do.
This is a very inspiring group of university students and early career women who want to make a difference in the industry. I only wish such a group was around when I was at university. Or that I had the courage to start a group like this! Being a part of the AWSN Cadets would have been invaluable for me back in those days.
Can’t wait to work with you all again this year!
Find out more about the AWSN Cadets program: https://www.awsn.org.au/index.php/awsn-cadets/
Thank you AWSN Cadets Committee!
On the tenth day of thank-you-mas…
I would like to give a huge shoutout to the team at Heal’r, especially Tanya. Thanks to Heal’r I have learnt so much about my physical and mental well-being.
I joined Heal’r back in August, at the time, I just wanted a place to go and exercise.
I met Tanya at Heal’r for an assessment, where I signed up to the program half skeptical when she told me about my weak left ankle, my misaligned hips and that Heal’r takes a holistic approach to looking after their members.
Yeah ok… I’ve heard all that marketing speak before…
Fortunately for me, my day job is about being proactive and advise preventative measures. So I took heed and started to follow advice. Started changing the way I walk, moved my feet differently to strengthen my left ankle.
Fast forward 2 months, on my birthday, as I was heading to meet my husband for a birthday dinner… I stepped on an uneven bit of concrete, rolled my left ankle and landed on it.
I was diagnosed with a broken foot, I had fractured the fifth metatarsal in my left foot. My GP was amazed I had not damaged my ankle. While I was complaining about my foot pain, he busied himself with tests to check if my ankle was OK.
As I am now 95% recovered, I am almost certain that if I hadn’t started steps to strengthen my left ankle, I would have been nursing a broken left ankle + a broken foot. Which I imagine would be much much worse.
Instead, I’ve been able to recover relatively quickly, my GP was definitely impressed. I ditched the moon boot and have been taking in all the recommendations to improve my physical and mental health. Because at the end of the day; that is all that matters. I attribute a lot of my recovery speed to the help Tanya and the Heal’r team gave me in and out of class to help my body manage the healing process and regain strength.
Thank you Tanya and Heal’r team for taking a holistic approach to helping people. I am very grateful!
Thank you Heal’r!
On the ninth day of thank-you-mas…
I would like to thank my friend Hellen for being instrumental in a huge part of my adventure! I know I’ve written a post earlier on in the year to thank her. This series is for me to show my gratitude for people that have had a big positive impact on me, so I’m going to do this again.
Thank you Hellen for putting your creativity into designing a logo for me, it has now been turned into vinyl stickers, as well!
It is an amazing experience to work with really talented creative people who are able to string abstract words and ideas into something material. I really had no idea what I wanted, just said elements of what I liked. The rest is history…
I’m so honoured to call you my friend. Thanks again!
Thanks Hellen!
On the eighth day of thank-you-mas…
I would like to thank my Discovery desk/pod buddies for a fun year filled with memes, laughter and intellectual chatter. This is likely the most lively and fun pod I have been a member of following my VicPol days.
Thank you guys for…
- Nagging me to buy LEGO UC Millennium Falcon set…
- W & D for my ever growing list of LEGO sets to buy
- J for my 1-gazillion-and-1 questions about everything and your calm demeanor
- W for teaching me still-very-basic-but-better-than-non-python skills
- D for all the good reads and writing advise
- J & W for letting me know that my husband is a vampire and methods for me to protect myself against such things.
- S for your dance, in 2020 we will get a video!
Thank you all for making coming to work fun!
Thank you desk buddies!
Thank you Fitted for Work.
On the seventh day of thank-you-mas…
I would like to give a huge shout out to the Fitted for Work and their mentoring program.
Fitted for Work is a not-for-profit organisation to help women experiencing disadvantage. The services they provide includes providing women with professional clothes for interviews, mentoring to help them get back to work. I went through the training earlier in 2019 to become a mentor for women looking to get back to the workforce.
It has been a very rewarding journey to have worked with my mentee. I have learnt a lot from her, particularly her courage, resilience and perseverance.
Thank you Fitted for Work for the assistance you provide those in need.
Thank you G (mentee) for helping me see what true resilience and courage looks like.
I am very grateful to you!
If you are interested in Fitted for Work, check out their website, support a very worthy cause!
https://fittedforwork.org/
Thank you Chris!
On the sixth day of thank-you-mas…
I would like to thank Chris, my boss. Chris makes up for the other 50% of the support behind what I have been able to achieve. Chris was the first person who gave me the nudge to get into mentoring and public speaking.
Sometimes I wonder if he uses Jedi mind tricks on me and learnt that…
1. I work well under pressure.
2. I don’t actively seek out opportunities, unless they find me first.
3. I have issues with saying no.
Thinking back it seems like he’s been doing things to covertly nudge me on a path he knew I would do well on before I realised it myself. It is pretty scary, because I’ve never worked directly with anyone with that kind of foresight.
Thank you Chris for:
- Nudging me onto the path I am currently on.
- Your consistent support for my ideas including the crazier ones at work.
- Your support for my extra-curricular work outside.
- Your advise and words of wisdom. Most of which I often don’t understand until a much later date…
- Trusting me to act as you while I act as Steve… and have the humour to laugh when I suggested I broke my foot to avoid doing your job.
- Offering to make me a foot out of LEGO to replace the broken one.
Thank you Jane!
On the fifth day of thank-you-mas…
I would like to thank Jane Frankland for giving me the opportunity to really push myself in 2019. I met Jane a few years ago at a workshop where Jane helped us develop our personal brand.
In 2019 Jane gave me the opportunity to tick off two of my “never have I ever” items.
The first being never have I ever developed an online training module…
The second, never have I ever recorded a podcast…
My jaw dropped to the floor when Jane sent me a note to ask if I would create a module for her online mentoring program The Secret Code ( click to opt in / sign up). I had never done anything like it, I also never thought of saying no… That is until, I found myself struggling to record my content then having to listen to it.
I am so honoured and grateful that Jane has helped me to push past my own limitations.
Thank you for believing in me and giving the platform to continually challenge and develop myself.
Thank you Steve!
On the fourth day of thank-you-mas…
I would like to give a shoutout to Steve.
A long time ago, someone told me that I should not be working in IT if I have an interest in fashion.
Well, Steve is a eco-ethical-farmer, OG Cyber Sec from way back and really smart business person. So, eat dust whoever thinks you can’t be multi-talented!
Between Steve & Chris, they got me on to the team as a temp to help out build the Discovery function. I never looked back from my two months secondment. When you have good people, interesting work, you just put your head down and you keep going.
Some of my past work experience taught me to not stick my head up too high, when you ask for things that others perceive you don’t deserve, you will have your self esteem crushed in a second and it would be your fault. Steve is 50% of the reason why I’m able to built the platform I have today. He will roll his eyes and say “but you did all the work.” Yes that is true, but I can tell when I have a manager who empowers and enables.
I was able to present publicly averaging once a month in 2018 because I was encouraged to.
My blog is his idea. “You should write about this.” Steve said.
“You should collate these examples and present about them.”
“Nah you go do the talk, so people associate Discovery with you and it becomes your brand.”
W-T-A-F?! I went for a while quietly waiting for the other shoe to drop and for Steve to remind me that internal Discovery work came first and I should stop going on holidays to give presentations and network. (True story, paraphrasing words that were said to me once upon a time.) I’m still waiting… though I don’t think that moment is likely to ever come.
On top of all the work awesomeness, he’s also educated me a lot on farming, and the kind of impact some practices has on the land. I have so much respect for the amount of respect he has on the environment and world.
Thank you for all the support you have given me.
Thank you for all your honesty and transparency.
Thank you for giving me a ton of ideas and make it seem like I was the one who came up with them; and avoid being credited for it.
Steve like a few other great managers, is one in a million. Find yourself a manager like Steve.
Thank you Jacqui!
On the third day of Merry Thank-you-mas…
I would like to take a moment to thank Jacqui, I don’t recall the exact sequence of us connecting. I shall call it serendipity that we kept on running into each other at the same train station… while I was busy doing pokemon gym battles… (I’m totally an adult!)
A lot of the great opportunities I have been involved with and wonderful people I have met I can trace back to her. She is one of the very few I have met in my career to date that walks her talk and just genuinely want to help people without expecting anything in return.
She has a day job, but also founded AWSN (Australian Women in Security Network) in her own time. Her work over the past few years have made a difference to many in the industry.
Find out more about what AWSN is and does on their website: https://www.awsn.org.au/
One of the first things that really got me into supporting students and early career professionals was through AWSN Cadets, an AWSN outreach program that is designed to support female identifying university students and early career professionals.
Thanks Jacqui for giving me the nudge I often need to set foot in the ring!
Thank you CCS / ECS Crew circa 2007 - 2009
For the second day of my twelve days of thank-you mas…
I would like to give a huge shout-out and thank you to the boys and girls of the Computer Crime Squad / E-Crime Squad.
As a young female warned against joining the workforce in a male dominated industry; I could not have asked for a better group of people to work with right in the beginning.
I must have struck the first job lottery as the team is a highly experienced and skilled team that did not often hire beginners to the team. I was one of two fresh recruits!
Not only was I welcomed as a member of the family from day one; I also learned loads from them! The skills that I am complimented on the most were all instilled on me from those early days.
One former detective colleague drove 3 hours with me to a country magistrates court to watch me give evidence and give me feedback and tips on how to testify as a witness (Thanks Tony). This is the kind of experience I could not have gotten anywhere else.
I was also encouraged to refine my sense of humour; leveling up in the pranks department. (But that will be stories for another day).
Thank you all! I’m very grateful to have known you and learnt from you.