On 22 March 2016 eight AIEF Scholarship Students from Clayfield College, Ipswich Grammar School, St Josephs Nudgee College and St Peters Lutheran College attended a Food for Thought Boardroom Lunch hosted by Peter Nash, Chairman of KPMG Australia.
Bill Allen, a Partner at KPMG in Brisbane and Trisha Goubareff, a Manager at KPMGs Gold Coast office, also attended the lunch.
Peter, Bill and Trisha shared insights from their careers from their first job to their current roles at KPMG and answered questions about the challenges they had faced, the mentors that had guided them and the jobs of the future.
The Year 11 and 12 students spoke about their interests and plans for life after school, including travel and work or study in diverse fields such as dentistry, physiotherapy, engineering, marine biology, the navy and the police force.
When asked what advice he would give his teenage self, Peter answered that it was important to be adaptable. Bill encouraged the students to be inquisitive and said there was no such thing as a stupid question; and Trisha said her experience had taught her that a career path is not fixed, and to be open to change.
Reflecting on the lunch, Year 12 Ipswich Grammar School student and aspiring lawyer and policy maker Wyatt said I think its important that young Indigenous people get to meet experienced and successful business leaders, not just for inspiration but also to share a vision for the future.
I thoroughly enjoyed today hearing everyones opinions about the challenges our country will face. Young people are the future of this country and I believe that if you are going to make decisions for young people then young people should be a part of it. I thank KPMG for their ongoing support of AIEF and their hospitality today.
