Today, as part of our Pathways in Education spotlight, we’re sharing the insights and career journey of the fabulous Georgie Swan - Head of Teach to Lead at Teach for Australia. From majoring in Finance and Political Science at university to pursuing a purposeful career in education, Georgie embodies the true meaning of finding passion and fulfilment in one’s career.
Guest Blog by Georgie Swan
“Where to even start! I went to university straight out of secondary school as I had no real direction of what a career could look like for me. I didn't even know what a 'career' really meant.
I studied double Bachelors’ degrees in Commerce and Arts giving me a broad range of subject choices to choose from. This suited me well as I continued to not have a great deal of clue what I wanted to do post university - it was also a 5-year degree, again … I took my time!
I ended up majoring in Finance and Political Science, with a minor in Economics, and my mind started to tick over into understanding the world around me a little more.
During my uni years I was fortunate to undertake a student exchange for a semester and I chose to go to Monterrey, Mexico. Driven by wanting to go somewhere a bit different, non-english speaking and where I knew absolutely no one, I jumped on the plane full of excitement and arrived to a sinking feeling of dread - what had I done?!
But long story short - the opportunity, challenge and eye-opening experience truly shaped some of who I am today. I began to understand who I am as a person in the world, what contribution I could make, the privilege I experience and the value my education had afforded me.
I returned to Australia about 18 months later to a graduate job at PwC. This role for me taught me how to work, how workplaces operate, how to interact with different groups of people and that the corporate world - while an important grounding for me - wasn't where my passions lie. I spent 3 years at PwC and was lucky to have two of those working within the Corporate Social Responsibility Team.”
Foundation for Young Australians - Putting purpose over profit
“I always had a strong sense of social justice, and in a profit-earning workplace, I wanted to be part of the side of the business that shared their knowledge, skills and resources with the non-profit sector. This made me motivated to move into the non-profit sector.
Education felt like a natural fit for me: I see education as one of the ultimate equalisers in our society and seek to remove as many barriers as possible for young people to receive the education they deserve, regardless of where they live or were born.
This led me to the Foundation for Young Australians where I was again lucky enough to work with some really extraordinary people. I learned quickly, I was given responsibility quickly and I failed ... heaps ... but learnt to bounce back. At FYA, I worked across a number of areas of the business with one of my proudest achievements being the design and implementation of the $20 Boss program for high school students across Australia. This program reached over 6,000 students in the first year, giving them the opportunity to build a business, build their enterprise skill sets and earn themselves a profit.”
Edrolo - A brave new world of education technology!
“After three and a half years at FYA, I was ready to change things up and moved to Edrolo - an Australian education technology startup - with the vision to improve education. I was tasked with building digital resources for students in their VCE and HSC years and seeking some of Australia's best educators to support with content creation and provide students the opportunity to learn from other expert teachers beyond their own.
Edrolo reminded me (not that I ever forgot) that teachers are the ACTUAL BEST - they care so deeply for young people and build their skills and knowledge throughout schooling. Teachers, like all of us, are also constantly learning - and at Edrolo I was able to support a bunch of amazing teachers with the tech side of learning - how to get the best from Edrolo products and how to work differently with students using different techniques - all with the aim of maximising learning for young people.”
City of Melbourne - Supporting Startups + Smart Cities
“Following this, after a few conversations with former colleagues, I took up the chance to go and work at the City of Melbourne in the Smart City and emerging technology space. My role was to support the City Council on their startup action plan, which enabled me to bring together my skills in education and startups.
Throughout the year, I also had the opportunity to collaborate on the design and delivery of Melbourne Knowledge Week (MKW). MKW was 120+ events across the course of a week to showcase innovation and knowledge in Melbourne, which included everything from medical simulations using robotic technology, to the future of food in Australia. It was an incredible experience to be part of!”
Teach For Australia - Democratising Education For All
“And yet, the draw back to education was powerful. I looked around for opportunities that could bring together many of my skills, knowledge and experiences to work on creating a more equitable education system. This led me to the powerhouse that is Teach For Australia.
Teach For Australia has a bold and critically important vision, focused on equity, where every child, regardless of their background, has a greater choice for their future. We do this by recruiting and developing exceptional people to teach and lead across Australia. I found this a compelling vision. And for me, an organisation’s vision and mission are some of the most important reasons to work within them!
Teach To Lead Fellows (2018/2019) at their Expo Celebration event
So what's my role now? I get to work with aspiring leaders in schools across Australia, in particular, schools facing educational disadvantage. Through designing and delivering an effective leadership program and building up the leadership skills of teachers in leadership and change, Teach for Australia equips teachers so that they are best placed to lead their schools and students to the futures of their choosing.
It’s incredibly rewarding work and something I look forward to each and every morning! I have an AMAZING team that I work with - powerful, smart, driven educators and leaders who enable and empower each other to be their best and to deliver really excellent programming and mentoring.
Teach For Australia has for over 10 years inspired 1000's of people to become teachers and to lead schools, and I'm so proud to be part of the movement!”
Georgie’s Tips: Finding A Career That’s Right For You!
OK. So I still don't completely know what a 'career' means yet, but I do know what's worked for me!
Look for organisations doing things you believe in
Work in something you care about and feel like you can contribute to with passion. For me, I tried out lots of different things, across all different sectors and have now realised that education is where I need to be.
Try things out, listen, listen, listen, make lots of mistakes - then learn from them
All the different pathways I have taken (and will continue to take) have been rocky, yet the people I have met along the way - the inspiring role models, those who have come before me, are coming up with me - they all make it well worth it! Treasure the relationships you build with people that fire you up, because they’re the people who will sustain you!