Skool Daze – Prominent Gold Coasters talk about school days

skool DAZE

Attending school and getting an education is an all-important part of shaping us for life’s journey. We asked some prominent women for their memories from their time in class during those formative years.

Suzanna Costello

Where did you go to school? Somerset College, Class of 2003 Favourite subject? Drama/Theatre Arts Favourite teacher? Mrs Priest, my pastoral care teacher. She was more like a school mum. Did you get any awards? I got the International Baccalaureate Award for Theatre Arts Higher Level. My classmates voted me “most likely to become a roadie.” It’s been almost 18 years and I am still not sure what to do with that. Sports or academic? Neither, Arts. Did you love school and why? I adored school. Not just the education process, but my actual school. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful group of friends, who are still my closest friends to this day and most of our children are now at Somerset College together. Somerset was a very high achieving school which supported me to step up my game, they started me on a lifelong pursuit of achievement and education. Best friend? Can I be greedy and have a few? Cara Tamandl, Ashley Phillips (nee, Harrison) Amanda Appel (nee, Freeman) and Anya Robbie. What did you want to be when you left school? My first degree was a Bachelor of Arts (Double Theatre Major) - I had my sights set on the stage. Being a litigation lawyer is not that different, right? Is life how you thought it would be or better? It is certainly different. My career obviously went on a major detour into the law from being a theatre kid. The people that I met at Somerset (as a student and now as a parent) were and remain to be the reason my life is better than I thought it would be when I was 16.

Olivia Scott

Where Did You Attend School? I am from Sydney so Ravenswood School for Girls up to Year 9 and then my last two years were at St Ives High School for Years 10 – 12. Favourite subject? Home Science - I still can’t cook, but I love eating so that was a bonus. I can sew on a button, but that’s about it. Favourite teacher? Mr Carragher and Mr Ramsay - both Maths teachers (my worst subject) and Stan Heuston (English), we were allowed to call him “Stan”, unheard of in the 80’s. We studied ‘Hotel California’ and learnt every word to the song. We all thought he was the coolest. I’m Facebook friends with all of them. Best memory at school? I really loved school. I had some great friends and most of the teachers were pretty good. My friendship group was a mixed bag of crazy, amazing people and I’m still in touch with a lot of them. Academic or sporting achievement? I won “The Sunshine Award” at the end of Year 12 (a made-up award of course, but I didn’t care, I still was very proud). I also won a running race when I was about 8 years old, but that was a bit of a Steven Bradbury moment. I was ridiculously proud of my blue ribbon. What did you want to be when you grew up? I’ve always had a love for radio so I’m glad I followed that path, even though I detoured a few times. Is your life now what you expected it to be? Life is pretty good!!! I have great family and friends and a job I love.

Katrina Sanguigno

Where Did You Attend School? Mansfield State High School In Brisbane. Favourite subject? My favourite subjects were Catering and Home Economics. I absolutely loved cooking and sewing. I enjoyed being involved in some of the events at school with my catering class. Favourite teacher? Mrs Box who was my Catering and Home Economics teacher. She was the best and a few years after graduating, when I was working in Events at Movie World, she contacted me to ask me to come back and do a talk to her current catering students. Best memory at school? Being involved in the High School Musicals – BATS & Man of Steel. I also loved being able to do roller skating as a sport at Mt Gravatt Skateway. Academic or sporting achievement? I was awarded the Year 12 Catering Award. What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to work in 5 star Hotel management. I did my work experience in Year 11 at the Gold Coast International Hotel (now QT Gold Coast). I managed to get a job there from that work experience at the end of Year 12. I worked my way into food and beverage management through the hotel training programs. I remember seeing the marketing/P.R. women at the time and realised that I wanted their job. That began my interest in all things marketing/P.R. Is your life now what you expected it to be? The last few years have been very difficult and challenging both physically and emotionally, but overall my life now is more than I ever expected it to be. I have always been very driven and goal oriented and I have ticked off many of the professional and personal goals I set myself in high school.

Courtney Hancock

What schools did you attend? For primary school I went to Mary Help of Christians in Sawtell and then switched to John Paul College in Coffs Harbour for High School. Your favourite subject? Physical Education and anything to do with sport. Favourite teacher? Mr Larkins Best memory at school? Making so many beautiful friends most of whom I still have as friends today. Academic or sporting achievements? Sportsperson of the Year in High School. Did you love school and why? I loved seeing my beautiful friends every day. Also the teachers I had each year were extremely supportive of my Ironwoman dream. Plus I absolutely loved the school dress-up socials each month. What did you want to be when you left school? I am so lucky to be able say that I am doing exactly what I wanted to be doing when I left school - an Ironwoman. I actually became a professional athlete when I was 17 and still finishing my last year at school. Is life how you thought it would be or better? My life right now is what I had always dreamed it would be, so I feel blessed to be living my childhood dream every day.

Kim Ross

Where did you go to school? I attended Southport State School until year 5 then St. Hilda’s from grades 6-12. Favourite subject? I loved Speech and Drama. Favourite teacher? Mrs Wilson who taught me art. Did you get any awards? Nothing outstanding. I was Form Captain of my class most years and was a prefect in my final year. I loved speech and drama and performing in the school plays. I was middle of the range academically and in sport. I enjoyed them both but wasn’t a shining star in either arena. Did you love school and why? I really did love school because of the friendships, the classes and hanging out there. In fact the lines became blurred as to whether I was a day girl or boarder. I was lucky I suppose that they were a fantastic group of girls, who are still my friends and I still treasure them to this day. What did you want to be when you left school? A school teacher. Is life how you thought it would be or better? I never really thought out how life would be but it has turned out to be great. I just turned 50 and after a few health concerns, I am just happy to be alive to enjoy it. I have a doting husband, a gorgeous family, and a beautiful group of friends. What more do you need?

Felicity Cohen

Where did you go to school? Lauriston Girls School in Armadale, Victoria. Favourite subject? Drama was something I loved followed by English. Favourite teacher? Mrs Cheeseman who taught me in Grade 5. Did you get any awards? I won piano competitions and also some awards for drama and debating. Sports or academic? Academic. Did you love school? I did; especially the great friends I made and the many opportunities that occurred. I was also fortunate enough to go to boarding school overseas when I was 14 years of age. It was a great experience. Best friend? Caroline Marshall What did you want to be when you left school? An actress or journalist. Is life how you thought it would be or better? Life is nothing like what I had expected. I could never have written this script. We are all shaped by our life experiences and the connections with the people we encounter along the way. The twists and turns and rollercoaster ride of life has been extreme in many situations and moments of my life. I have learnt to always grow from the experience; good; bad; horrific or indifferent. I’m grateful for where I live for; having the courage to pursue my dreams and blessed to have my two incredible children.

Rebecca Baird

Where did you go to school? I went to a high school in Toronto, Canada called AY Jackson. Favourite teacher? My favourite teacher was Bella Kovarsky who taught dance. Favourite subject? My favourite subject was science, especially chemistry. Did you receive any awards? Not that I can recall. How did you get to school? I literally walked 20 minutes in snow up to my knees, in minus 20c temperatures, to get to school. What did you want to be growing up? I spent most of my childhood training in classical ballet by the same teacher that taught Mikhail Baryshnikov, and dreamt about becoming a ballet dancer in the National Ballet School of Canada. I became a lawyer instead. Is life how you expected to be? No, it’s so much better than I expected!! I can’t believe that I got lucky enough to be stranded on this paradise island called Australia!