Bring out your dead! – Avondale Alumn Laura Hutchinson brings life back to the Old Quarantine Station

June 13, 2019 by Laura Hutchinson

Avondale Communications student Kody Dobson caught up with Alumni Laura Hutchinson to talk about her unique public relations role. 

All photos supplied by Q Station Manly

After leaving Avondale college what was the pathway that lead you to being Marketing for Quarantine Station?

After I graduated I decided to take a break from my responsibilities – I never took a gap year and had completely burnt out by the end of College because I overcommitted to so many things (and loved every minute!). So I planned to do nothing for the month of January.

Of course, I am not the type of person who could just sit still and by the end of the month I had accidentally gained multiple jobs including directing the musical Jericho Road, Admissions Officer back at Avondale, working as an Extra on TV sets, assisting with a project at the Adventist Union plus a few modelling gigs. I like to keep busy!

Initially I dreamed of working in the media, particularly radio, but it’s a very hard industry to crack into. I applied for lots of roles in Marketing / PR in Sydney because it was a familiar place and close to home (Lake Macquarie). My then-boyfriend now-husband Sebastian Hutchinson (Avondale Business School Alumni) was employed already as an Assistant Accountant on the Northern Beaches of Sydney so Q Station in Manly was a perfect choice because it allowed me to live and work close to Bas.

I fell in love with Q Station as soon as I arrived for my interview and saw the amazing views of Sydney Harbour, natural environment or the National Park and the gorgeous old buildings, rich with history. I was honest in my interview about my experiences and expectations, demonstrating that as a graduate I didn’t have heaps of exposure to the programs or systems of a hotel but was very eager to learn. They appreciated my honesty and innovative nature I think… I’ve just celebrated my 2 year anniversary in this role in May 2019.

When Graduating from Avondale did you see yourself in a position like this?

Yes. I wanted to work full time in business in Marketing or Public Relations – my role now is a varied mix between the two. Although I thought I’d be in radio, hospitality has surprised me as being quite vibrant and fun in a different way!

What is your Favourite Part of the Job?

Creativity. I dabble in graphic design, writing (press releases, website copy, social captions, etc) photography, videography and more. I’m lucky to have a lot of responsibility in my small team and pretty much single-handedly manage the digital presence for Q Station across all our revenue streams – hotel, conferencing and events, weddings, history and ghost tours, restaurant and leisure guests for the cafe, museum and beach. It’s wild! Marketing is basically just communicating a brand story. Creativity and storytelling are woven through all of my tasks.

If there is one story you could share of Q Station and the history of it what would it be?

Oh my gosh… where do I begin! European settlers first used this spot for quarantine purposes in 1828 and it was only closed in 1984 – so there is a lot of history behind us and countless stories to tell. The people coming through here were migrating from overseas and had to have themselves and all of their belonging thoroughly disinfected before being interned for a minimum of 40 days. Anyone sick on the ship was taken to the Hospital Precinct and isolated – major diseases included smallpox, typhoid, bubonic plague and Spanish influenza.

My favourite story occurred when the quarantine station was totally overrun by soldiers returning home from war in 1918. They didn’t have enough accommodation so the soldiers had to pitch their own tents. In doing so across the property, they encountered so many snakes that one man climbed a pole and wouldn’t get down ALL NIGHT! By morning the men had rallied together and marched out of the gates past security (what one or two security guards could stop 600+ soldiers?!), down to Manly Ferry and across to the city. This was their protest to the poor conditions of the station at that time.

They were then quarantined in tents on the Sydney Cricket Ground for the remainder of their 40 days.

 Your website talks about ghost tours, have you had any experience with ghosts since working there or have any of your co-workers experienced anything?

Q Station runs ghost tours every night of the year, except for Christmas and New Year’s Eve.  We are considered one of the most haunted sites in Australia, and the fact that we have enough people visiting for that purpose every single night is a testament to that.

I was nervous to market the ghost tours as I wasn’t quite sure how it would align with my Christian beliefs. As it turns out, the tours are lots of fun whether you are a sceptic or a believer as they are based on the stories of the real history of the site and the people who lived and worked here. I really enjoy marketing them. We have a huge following online and the audience is very engaged. I did the tour and did not experience any paranormal things but had a few jumps and screams none the less! Because I manage our social accounts, I receive messages often of people telling us what they have encountered and sending a photo of “evidence”. Some are convincing! I tend to keep it at arm’s length and while I enjoy telling and hearing the spooky stories I don’t want to mess with the spiritual realm if it really is there so I keep things fun and light-hearted. My God is way bigger than whatever is lurking in the old shower block at work so I’m not phased.

What is your favourite tour you can take at Q station, give me a short explanation of the tour and why it is your favourite?

The Wharf Wander History Tour.  It Covers everything you need to know in 45 minutes  and you get to explore cool places like the autoclaves, shower block and old hospital. It’s still meaningful and rooted in the tragic history but also tells fun stories and dives into the history of migration and medicine, how we got the beautiful multicultural Sydney we live in and love today. This tour runs every day at 11 am.

How did Studying at Avondale help equip you for the Future?

My experience at Avondale was full of so many opportunities for leadership as well as participation in teams. I’m not talking about group assignments, though they are sometimes very similar to what it is like to work in an office team! I joined music groups, bible studies and sports teams, supported mission trips, wrote articles for the yearbooks and lead a drama team. As someone with a small attention span, I really appreciated the intimate class sizes which allowed for collaboration and discussions within lectures. My lecturers all knew me by name and were highly supportive of my ventures. The lecturers also really encouraged me to get as much hands-on experience as possible – after all, it does not matter the university name on your resume, it’s all about the real workplace experience you’ve gained!

My view on this has only been emphasised since graduating – I don’t know anything about or care where my colleagues studied, but I do know their previous jobs and the skills they are bringing to their current role because of them. Honestly, I believe you’d be better off at a small town college with relevant casual/part-time career experience on your resume than with somewhere massive like USYD and having done nothing but ride off Centrelink for 4 years. Just my opinion! 😉

My lecturers at Avondale had great connections to help me gain invaluable internship experience, such as radio, magazines, marketing/PR offices, etc.

My advice to Avondale students is to GET INVOLVED in as much as you can handle! Find things you love and get amongst it. Interviewers are much more interested in the musical I directed and social projects I was a part of than the scores I got in economics classes. College is more than just getting an expensive piece of paper, it is about building your resume through building your character, social and professional networks as well as skill set.

 

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Laura Hutchinson
About the Author

Laura Hutchinson

Laura is Marketing Coordinator at Q Station Manly

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Avondale Alumni Taking his Expertise to the United Nations

May 7, 2019 by Lynnette Lounsbury

Current Communications student Kody Dobson interviews Communication graduate, Avondale Alumni and Malgana Yamatji man – Jared Poland. 

Kody: Jared when you graduated from Avondale, did you ever think you would find yourself delivering a statement at a United Nations?
How did you get this opportunity and what did you say?

Jared: I graduated from Avondale with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in International Development and Poverty Studies and a Specialisation in Communication.

I’ve always dreamed about going to the UN, however, no I never thought I would have this opportunity.  I was fortunate enough to be selected to be an intern for the Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nation Human Rights Council for the 40th session of the Human Rights Council.  I currently am studying a Juris Doctor at Monash University in Melbourne.  I was selected by Monash’s Castan Centre for Human Rights Law for this opportunity.

The statement was at an event hosted by the Norwegian Mission about “Recognising Environmental Human Rights Defenders and the need for their protection”.  The statement I gave was roughly on this subject, highlighting the important role and work that Indigenous people, especially Indigenous women play in advancing human rights. I also highlighted the need for their empowerment.

Kody: What do you do when you are not Speaking at UN meetings? 

Jared: Well, I as I said I am interning for the Australian government (the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, DFAT) at the moment.  I am a student, and I also work part time for a small Indigenous NGO where we run mentorship programs for Indigenous kids.  Unfortunately, my internship is not a permanent position so I will have to return to Australia and resume my studies, though I do hope to be back here one day in a professional capacity. We’ll see what happens.

I have been passionate about human rights, in particular, Indigenous rights for quite some time. I am a Malgana Yamatji man so the issue of Indigenous rights is quite personal and important for me.  Everyone is equal and so should have the right to realise and achieve their full potential. Unfortunately, this is not the case.  Systemic and social inequalities mean that people all too often never start off on equal ground so as a result are disadvantaged.  This for me is unacceptable.  The treatment of Indigenous people in Australia (both historically and presently) is disgraceful.  The fact that we die younger than the average Australian, and the disgustingly high Indigenous youth suicide rate, for example, is shameful, this needs to change.

For me, I became passionate about human rights after a fly and build trip overseas when I was younger, and my passion for Indigenous rights came from realising that only through Indigenous-led solutions will substantive change in this area ever occur in Australia.

Kody: You are very active on social media on the topic of Indigenous
Australian issues. What are some other projects or summits you have been involved in, what do these projects mean to you?

Jared: I work with young Indigenous kids in a community-based mentorship program where we work to instil self-confidence, helping them to realise the endless potential that they have within themselves.  Growing up I’ve been in involved in a number of local community-based service projects.  During my Bachelor’s degree study. I was fortunate enough to able to intern and gain experience working both domestically with NGOs in Sydney and the Torres Strait and internationally as well.

Kody: As an Avondale graduate if you had something to say to the students
coming through now as to what you would like to see them do in this
space you are working within, is there anything we can do to help?

Jared: Well, the area of Indigenous rights my advice would be to educate yourselves on the real history of this great country that we share.  There is a lot that we need to reconcile with if we ever want to have a better future for all.  Once you have educated yourselves, be ready to act on what you’ve learned.   Also just listen to people and hear their lived experiences, growing up in Australia is a very different experience for some people.

Thank you for your time, inspiration and service to our country Jared. Avondale is incredibly proud of you!

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Mythical Dreaming – A filmmaking Journey.

September 21, 2018 by Lynnette Lounsbury

Every Communications student at Avondale takes Video Production unit that teaches them the basics of filmmaking under the tutelage of a working filmmaker. For many of them, this is their first filmmaking experience with professional film making equipment and high level editing software. They don’t get long to make their film and while we provide them with high quality equipment and on-call mentoring, they have no budget and have to be resourceful, creative and generally go guerilla to come up with something unique and entertaining within the constraints.

We wanted to share a couple of our favourites from the last class – two very different films that show innovative storytelling skills: Lawson Hull’s mockumentary about the life and death of dreams faced by tertiary students, and an animation of Tolkien’s poem “The Kullervo Cycle” by Matthew Schimpf.

Dreams from Lawson Hull on Vimeo.

The Kullervo Cycle from Matt Alexi on Vimeo.

 

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A manifesto for tomorrow from graduate Charlotte O’Neill

September 16, 2018 by Lynnette Lounsbury

If there is any prouder moment for a Communications lecturer than when one of their students publishes a book – I don’t know what it is. Seriously – we beam. And of course we tell absolutely everyone about it. Graduate Charlotte O’Neill is a writer and a teacher and in 2018 released her first book of poetry – Then the bones blossomed. We talked to her about her work, her life and her vision. –

Tell us a little of your own story…

I grew up in the Northern Rivers region, between Lismore and Byron. I went to Avondale College after leaving school and ended up working at Avondale School before moving north again and finding work on the Gold Coast. Now I work at a wonderful multi-denominational school called Emmanuel College, and live in a wood cabin in the Gold Coast hinterland where I can run, hike, get excellent coffee… the basics of life. I recognise how blessed I am, because this is pretty much exactly what I envisioned three years ago as I was leaving College.

What does your perfect day look like?

At this point, with the pressure of a full time job, a perfect day is one without 9-5 work. I would lay in the sun, eat a ton of good food, have time to write and not be annoyed at pedestrians crossing too slowly on the sidewalk on my commute home. Recently I read David Foster Wallace’ ‘This is Water’ (which I highly recommend for anybody soon to graduate uni!). It’s about stepping outside of yourself every day, and not viewing the world through your own jaded, perpetually self-oriented lens.

Why poetry? What does poetry do to you?

I grew up writing totally unreadable love poetry all over my Maths exams. When I was fourteen, I showed a poem that at the time I thought was dramatic and yet subtle (stars, love, boy’s eyes… etcetera) to my favourite teacher. He said that passion often takes from our ability to write without agenda but it gives us life. It was a backhanded compliment, but it stuck with me. A lot of what I write has a clear agenda – sometimes, it’s peace, but other times it is to draw attention to flaws or elements of society that pain me. Its highly subjective. I’m okay with that, and it is one of the reasons I enjoy the medium of poetry. However, to me it is more than a subjective, artful writing form – it allows me to link ideas together in a way that can be misinterpreted, reinterpreted and read into in a myriad of different ways. People can interpret a poem the way they need. It may not be the most academic response, but I can’t remember the last time I read a truly academic poem and went away wanting to change the world.

How would you describe your style?

Very much free verse, although I like to experiment with rhyme and rhythm. I’m more interested in recurrent metaphors and imagery. I like the fact that there isn’t really any such thing as a perfect poem. It’s as much about meaning as form.

Who are your literary influences? Your life inspirations?

Luka Lesson is a massive inspiration to me, his free-flowing verse that uses imagery to create meaning is so powerful, and totally accessible… and it’s hip-hop. Eminem and Bob Dylan are both literary inspirations to me, in the way they tie together human ideas. Most of my inspirations are not poets.

You talk about The Bones arising out of dark times, what does that mean for you?

Since I graduated uni I’ve experienced a number of deaths of people very dear to me which have devastated my family, and suffered a bit of a nervous breakdown myself due to personal circumstances. I’ve also lived closely with a family member afflicted with severe bipolar, and holding somebody back from the brink of suicide puts a lot of things into and out of perspective. Not everybody will relate to or understand The Bones, but I believe in exorcising dark ideas, putting them on a page and deciding if they are worthwhile. So while the book is about death and pain and grief, it is also very much about hope and power.

Which is your favourite piece in the book?

Burn it. All of it. Burn the hate and greed. Burn the selfishness and the carelessness. Burn the longing and the dissatisfaction and the Regret. On great wood pyres, burn the pyres too and the footings and let the sparks light your way as you run, don’t look back. Don’t look back at the melting debris or the greying ash, run until the smoke no longer clouds your vision and fresh grass is brushing your feet. Make a funeral of your distrust and apathy, and walk on.

Tell us about the writing of the book – your process.

It actually only took about 6 months. It was purely inspiration-based, I just couldn’t stop writing poetry. However this isn’t usual for me. I find that writing isn’t any different to musicianship or any other art form. Often people think writers have to be inspired, but it is actually just a matter of practice. Five years ago I couldn’t sit down and just know that I would be able to write, whereas now it comes naturally whenever I have the time. I fit it around teaching, and find that the stress of having to work around a full time job is very motivating!

What is next in your writing?

I’m currently working on a book manuscript about a physicist stuck inside his own mind. He journeys to the country and encounters his father’s death, which is really the centre point of his whole story. I believe that death marks epochal points in our lives by which we often centre ourselves. Often our first encounter of death is what pushes us to understand life more deeply and provide reasons to exist.

Where can we buy Then the bones blossomed?

My publisher’s website, here http://www.vividpublishing.com.au/charlotte/ is the easiest place to order the book.

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What next? Communications Graduate Narkisska Spruce Talks Career

June 27, 2018 by Lynnette Lounsbury

One of the most common questions students ask about the Communications strand is – But, what job can I get with a Comms degree? The answer is as varied – and as fascinating – as our students are. In our first alumni profile, we let our wonderful ex-student Narkisska Spruce, tell us all about what she is doing with her Communications degree.

 

Where do you work and what do you do?

I am currently working with Deloitte Digital, as a project manager in their Emerging Technology team. My role consists of facilitating the delivery of software-based projects that use some pretty fun tech. Some of the cool projects that I’ve helped to bring from paper to screen include 5m-long interactive touch screen experiences, a biometric-driven motion sphere ride, training sims, racing simulator using a game steering wheel, a

nd augmented reality photo booths. In my 3 years out of Avondale, I have worked with brands such as Mazda, Acura, Coke, Southwest Airlines, Fire & Rescue NSW, Museum Of Applied Arts and Science, Superbowl 50, Laminex and icare.

How did you get the job?

My job originated with getting an office support role with Well Placed Cactus, a boutique software/games dev company that later became acquired my Deloitte. I got that job by doing something both creative and unique – I created a playable game that was based on my resume! In the last 6 months of my time at Avondale, I designed and created an interactive game that explored my personality and interest; education, work experience, and aptitude. The idea was to communicate the skills and experiences I have in a memorable way. You are competing with th

ousands of other graduates with the same qualifications as you – how are you going to stand out?

The game was a bit buggy, had performance problems, and looking back now, it was very risky to send to professional game developers. Regardless, a few days after graduation I sent the game to over 20 game and creative software studios (cold-calling), and by the New Year I landed a job. You can still download and play my resume here​ ​(Playable on Internet Explorer).

What do you love about your job?

On a superficial level, I love the security that my job provides. However, what really drives me to get up each morning and do my job is the autonomy I’m provided by my supervisors, the trust and enjoyment of my development team, and the continued opportunity to grow. I love being organised and, more importantly, I love the journey of getting a project to completion, with all the tears, anxiety and joy it brings. Every project has a special part in my heart.

What is your advice to Comms students planning their career after College?

In the first year of our degree, think about where you want to be – the more specific the better. Plan your official and unofficial internships with this in mind; use any assessment you can to explore your career niche; develop a comprehensive portfolio; and think of how you might standout from every other graduate once you’ve got your degree. Also, acknowledge the skills you are developing while learning. Our degree isn’t just about the academics of your particular area of study – any textbook can provide you that. It’s about developing and working in teams of people you don’t know; foreward thinking and time management; presentation skills; mock confidence; independence and autonomy, just to name a few. No matter your job, you will require these skills on a daily basis.

 

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Hello world – Welcome to Communications at Avondale College

March 28, 2018 by Lynnette Lounsbury

Communications is a strand of the Arts degree available at Avondale College. This blog introduces you to the Communications lecturers, the content of the course and celebrates our alumni and their magnificent achievements. Sometimes we will post about something new we are studying, something interesting we have discovered through our research or something special we have going on. Please feel free to contact us if you are one of our past (or future) students with something to share, celebrate or any questions. We love to chat.

The very word “communicate” describes an exchange of ideas, thoughts and experiences, so we would love you to keep in touch.

 

You can contact me – the editor – Lynnette Lounsbury through [email protected] at any time. 

 

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