Thank you, Miss Morello, and the Derrico family, for this honour.
I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here today and to be an Old Paradian, even if it shows my age.
I grew up in the Western Suburbs of Sydney.
My parents did their best to keep us afloat, and we regularly attended church.
From my Roman Catholic upbringing, my school, and my parents, I was taught about giving back.
I was inspired by the likes of Saint Mary MacKillop, who founded Catholic education and took nuns out of a convent to make a difference.
During my early high school years, before coming to Parade, my life was completely different.
Puberty was delayed for me, and as a result, I was different.
My former high school in Western Sydney was limited.
You either fit in as being athletic, interested in science, or you're a tradesperson.
As someone who has an entrepreneurial mindset, business wasn't a focus.
I am not afraid to admit that these years were when I was bullied. Severely.
To the point, I was physically and verbally abused, with little avenue to turn.
The moment some of my Sydney school students tried to drown me during a school excursion, pitched bocce balls at me, and threw my bag off a high cliff into a wet puddle to ruin my schoolbooks, are memories I wish never occurred.
I share them with you today, as a reminder that in life, whatever you do. Respect and be mindful of one another.
When we're unkind to others or do not give them a chance, these moments carry us through our lives.
And whilst I might forgive, you cannot forget.
In a twisted way, my life, however, changed in grade 9.
One morning, my single parent Mother, caring for my two older brothers and me, decided to go down the road to get breakfast for us.
She was not to return.
Several hours later, the police arrived at our door and informed us that our Mum had been hit by a car while crossing the green pedestrian light.
Mum was in the Intensive Care Unit for several months, and with no recovery in sight, my older sister Nessa sacrificed her 20's to raise me.
Already living in Melbourne, I moved states, and she found Parade College.
When I first joined Parade, I discovered a BIG difference.
Finally, puberty was kind to me, and college was welcoming, offering several avenues to give back to the community. And finally, several subjects for business!
I remember the annual Christmas party for aged care homes as a highlight, along with the program whereby we visited care homes. Learning more about people's lives, getting their perspective on things and making their day.
Of course, whilst I enjoyed school. I also had subjects that weren't my favourites.
Miss Dourios might recall the several times she taught me that you can't pretend you've done your accounting homework with a blank sheet of paper.
Accounting was a subject I disliked at first because of the maths side. However, I knew that in the business world, I would need to know a thing or two about cashflow to survive.
Whilst I am not an expert in tax or cashflow, I do remember the concepts of a healthy balance sheet and rely on my support network to stay afloat.
The true lesson here is to do things that scare you.
To have a crack at things in life that you fear.
Because that's how we grow as people and live life to the fullest.
After my time at Parade, I studied at Deakin University Online to gain real-world work experience.
This, along with my studies, helped me better understand concepts and give me good job prospects.
At the same time, I juggled running several businesses and living independently.
And discovered that you also can't do everything at once.
Did all my ventures succeed? Absolutely... not.
But in business and in life, you must learn to persist and know when to move on to the next thing.
My two key highlights in business over the years have been:
1. My ethical digital marketing firm, LYF Solutions, where I ran a team for 13 years, supporting and developing them as content experts to help other purpose-driven businesses grow.
2. True Green Hosting: Where we educated people that our digital presence does have a carbon footprint, and how we can help reduce that by being more conscious about what we share and do online.
Today, I spend most of my time helping websites rank on Google. So that they can be found.
And finding ways to track that with tools.
Along with teaching business owners, through workshops and presentations, practical ways to understand digital concepts and grow their businesses.
Being in the digital world, I am reminded of how much we are glued to our devices.
And how algorithms work; that lead to a more divided world than ever.
We are only fed what we want to hear based on our past likes and engagement.
We miss out on different opinions, and this creates unhealthy bubbles and behaviours.
So, it's important for us all to switch off.
And remember that although our newsfeed may be negative to drive more revenue for the big end of town and tech companies, the world is something to be grateful for.
No matter the challenges you face, you can overcome them.
When you meet someone with a different view, you can talk to them.
And you can be open to new ideas and ways of doing things.
No one is perfect.
But the power of listening and collaboration is how we are to achieve things.
To accept differences hands-on.
And that will open a world of new possibilities.
I am grateful for the opportunity to be here today.
And to say that my Mother, her sister, my sister and my partner are also with me today to support this occasion.
Life has never been easy.
But I have always believed that living by your values is the best way to be.
Whether you're a sportsperson, a mathematician, an analyst or a teacher even.
Whatever field or passion you have.
You can live your life to the fullest when you leave a legacy for others around you.
Be kind.
Be supportive.
And be open to what life gives you, even if it may come in twisted or different ways.
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