STUDENT SUMMIT

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre - 25 March 2011

Speaker profiles

Click here for Full Program


The Student Summit 2011 focused on the first five years of a student’s career - what you can do to be successful, why it’s important and how you can get there. The students heard from eight talented, experienced and magnificent speakers who gratuitously shared their time and expertise on their five years of their careers.

 

There were a lot of firsts for the Student Summit in 2011, holding its first set of back of house tours at major tourism and event facilities, Crown and Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre as well as partnering with theNational Career’s Expo to give students a holistic approach to beginning their careers in the industry.

Students in attendance learnt that:

  1. You have to create your own opportunities.
    You can make your own opportunities using social media according to Sandi Sieger and Sam Mutimer’s experience or use Vernon Chalker’s traditional method who created his own opportunities by being confident and providing a service where nobody else did.
  2. It’s not what you do that matters, it’s what you know.

Tracey Wall spoke about her career and starting from the very bottom to create an empire where she gets paid for what she knows, not just what she does. She suggested that all those new to the industry should volunteer, network and learn as much as they could.

  1. There is no cheat sheet.
    You create your own opportunities by following what you love, like all our speakers did.

 

Thank you to all our speakers on the day:

Erin Devlin – Director of Devlin Alliance
Sandi Sieger – Director of Onya Magazine, White Echo
Vernon Chalker – Owner of Gin Palace, Madame Brussels and many others
Penny Wilson – City of Melbourne, Chair of Young Tourism Network
Bruce Ranken – Director of VIP and President of ISES
Tracey Wall – Owner of Safety in Numbers
Jess Hunichen – Director of Honey PR

 

The Student Summit 2011 hosted a record crowd of over 700 students from institutions from all over Victoria. 

This event wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our sponsors the National Careers & Events Expo, Box Hill Institute, Young Tourism Network and City of Melbourne and all tertiary institutions some who travelled far and wide to attend.

 

On behalf of TAV, we wish students the best of luck and we look forward to welcoming them to our amazing industry in the near future.

 

   

 

Principal Partner

Careers & Employment Expo is our principal partner for this event.

 

 


Speaker profiles

 

Tourism stream

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Sandi Sieger - White Echo and Onya Magazine

"How to protect your social media identity"

Sandi Sieger started writing when she was six years old. She has the first journal she ever wrote in, which declared, ‘When I grow up I want to be a writer,’ and included sentiments such as, ‘If some kid ever beat me in a running race, I’d probably bash them up.’

She is now the twenty-six year old Director and Editor-In-Chief of Ony a Magazine and Editor of social media strategy company White Echo.

After completing a Bachelor of Arts (Cinema Studies and Cultural Studies) at Melbourne University, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Media Production from RMIT University, she spent time building her freelance writing portfolio, as well as taking up the position of Editor at a Sydney-based publication.

In 2009, she launched Onya Magazine where she proudly holds the title of Director and Editor-In-Chief.  When not writing or editing, Sandi can be found coordinating a youth program named Camp Awakenings and presenting leadership workshops in high schools.

Sandi plans to remain blissfully content, rebellious and passionate for her entire life. She is not usually very far away from her MacBook Pro, Canon EOS and retro printed notebook (or seven).  She still uses a diary made of fine paper, loves seeing ink marks around her forefinger and has a terrible habit of making lists.

Her social media work with White Echo has seen her work alongside celebrities, athletes and consumer brands.

She plans to use her passion for the internet to keep building strong professional networks - and to keep producing nothing less than quality.

 

 

Erin Devlin

Erin Devlin is the Founding Director and a Principal Consultant at Devlin Alliance.  She has developed a reputation for high quality engagement with clients in the corporate sector, from junior through to executive level recruitment.  Erin has previously worked and travelled internationally with one of the most prominent recruitment companies on the global landscape as a Senior Associate, successfully placing candidates in small, medium, and large organisations in the private, government, and not for profit sectors. 

As a former dancer with the Australian Ballet, Erin employs the same level of dedication, commitment and precision to her commercial career.  During her university studies, Erin travelled the world working with Emirates Airlines, and so understands the diverse career paths that can eventuate from a hospitality background. 

Erin now works passionately to support Devlin Alliance consultants and clients by streamlining recruitment processes, conducting robust candidate searches, developing candidate and client networks, implementing market leading technology, social media sourcing strategies and leading new business development and account management.  Erin looks forward to continuing to develop the Devlin Alliance brand within specialised verticals and continuing the delivery of a high quality service to clients and candidates alike.

 

 

 

Vernon Chalker - Gin Palace & Madame Brussels

"My Brilliant Career - the first five years "

 

Vernon Chalker is the inspiration behind iconic bar Gin Palace and co-owner of newer venues Madame Brussels and The Order of Melbourne.

In 2009, Vernon was awarded 'Operator of the Year' at the Australian Bar Awards. In the same year he snatched the top spot in the inaugural 'Most Influential List'.

Vernon is responsible for some of the finest city night spots and continues to be an inspiration for budding entrepreneurs in the industry. A big advocate for Melbourne, Vernon Chalker continues to be an influential figure in Melbourne's nightlife.

Melbourne has become a much more interesting place to go at night,’ Vernon says. ‘I like the way the city is dynamic and always changing. Things open and close, different streets change their identity as businesses open and create a new vibe. It is great being involved in an industry where you help provide exciting options for people who come in search of a lifestyle experience.

 

 

 

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Penny Wilson - City of Melbourne

"You've graduated, what's next? Some tips to make the first five years of your tourism career, successful"


Penny is the current Chair of the Young Tourism Network and has been a member of the YTN committee for four years.

Penny works for Tourism Melbourne at the City of Melbourne in their Industry Partnerships team. The team has responsibility for Council's business event sponsorship program, business tourism marketing and promotional opportunities for the tourism and events industry.

Penny has worked in a number of areas in tourism at the City of Melbourne, including in research, sustainability and in tourism information services.  Penny undertook a secondment at Tourism Victoria where she completed a study analysing tourism environmental accreditation programs.

Penny has completed a Masters in Tourism at Monash University, loves learning languages and travelling!

 

 

 

Event stream

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Sam Mutimer - ThinkTank Media

"How to protect your social media identity and use social media to land that job"

Sam is a highly energetic speaker & social media strategist with hands-on experience in the latest trends & tools within the social media world.

She runs thinktank media’s events along with a regular ‘Social Media’ slot on the Kiss.fm breakfast show. Sam is the video blogger for the buzzing mum's network, connect2mums & founder of Melbourne’s active of fline twitter community group @tweetupmellers.

Together with thinktank media, some of their clients include Coles, Toyota, Richmond Football Club, Fit n Fast, Genesis fitness and Yamaha, along with numerous councils & PR/ Advertising agencies.

With in-depth knowledge of current & up-coming social media tools & strategies, Sam has the unique ability to adapt her message & to her audience from basic introductions & run-throughs, to advanced strategies & implementations for:
Twitter | YouTube | Livestream | LinkedIn | Facebook | Foursquare

 

Tracey Wall

“My brilliant Career – why the first five years were important”

 

Tracey has worked in event management for over 20 years.

Working in senior management positions with various councils, concert promoters and organisations including Make Poverty History, Big Day Out, The Push, Soundwave, Next Wave Festival, International Management Group and Melbourne Cricket Club. Tracey has worked in a range of venues including Festival Hall, Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne Showgrounds, Etihad Stadium and Melbourne Docklands and on many of the major concerts touring Melbourne including U2, AC DC and Bon Jovi.

Tracey has expertise across all areas of event safety management and an in depth knowledge of current best practice within the industry. Much of her work has focused on major outdoor events, temporary installations, construction, and "out of scope" activities and as such has attained a high level of skill and knowledge in occupational health and safety, risk management, safety planning and public safety.

 

 

 

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Jess Hunichen - Honey PR

"You've graduated what's next? Some tips to making those first five years successful"

 

Jess Hunichen is a 23 year old entrepreneur enjoying great business success.
Shortly after finishing her degree (Bachelor of Business – Marketing and Event Management) and buzzing with enthusiasm, Jess Hunichen launched Honey PR in 2008.

Honey PR provides strategic PR consultancy to a variety of clients across a range of industries. With a keen and avid dedication to delivering sought after results, she has a hands-on approach and works in partnership with clients from sketch to masterpiece.

Despite her busy schedule Jess still finds the time to do a lot of charity work – mainly for the National Breast Cancer Foundation where she sits as the Vice Chair of the Melbourne Events Committee.

Fresh, dynamic, in touch, spirited and unique, Honey PR develops a comprehensive understanding of client goals and ensures that their experience has a measurable impact on their business.


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