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Sirius competition winners announced
The winners of our Sirius competition have been announced, including Luxembourg-based accountant Ghislaine Nijhuis and Ray Pobjoy, a teacher from northern New South Wales.
Ghislaine won a $250 voucher from Amazon. After studying for a Master of Commerce in Finance and Accounting during 2007 and 2008 she moved to Luxembourg where she is currently working as an International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) consolidation specialist at a Fortune 500 company.
“Next to having gained valuable experiences both professionally and personally, I have made friends for life through my time at Macquarie,” she explains. “Although we all moved to different places across the world, we have always stayed in touch.”
“Winning this voucher came as a surprise, so I haven’t really had a chance to think about that but I am sure I will find something,” she says.
Ray, who studied a Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Education between 1992 and 1996 before returning to complete his Masters in Education over 1999 and 2000, won a $250 Visa card.
“Since graduation I have worked as a fulltime employee of the NSW Department of Education. I began at Quakers Hill High School, the very town I grew up in, and then moved to Wyndham College, which is the senior high school for the area.
“In 2001 I left the city and transferred to South Grafton High School on the north coast,” Ray says, adding that he has recently moved with his family to the country village of Glenreagh between Grafton and Coffs Harbour.
He says that doing his Masters completely changed how he saw teaching and what mattered, but his most life-changing moments came in his Aboriginal studies units with Pat Cavanagh and Nina Burridge.
“Both shifted my perspective so fundamentally that I have since done whatever I can to make a difference in Aboriginal Education. There is plenty of opportunity for that up here on Bundjalung – Gumbayngirr country!”
“Life stage dictates that the card will be used for bills,” he laughs. “I’d love to tell you something more exciting but that’s where its up to for a while.