News of Old Collegians

Deputy Chief Judge

Old Collegian Meryl Sexton (1977) has been appointed as first Deputy Chief Judge of the County Court in Victoria’s history. Judge Sexton was appointed as a Judge in the County Court in 2001 and in 2005 she was appointed as the inaugural Judge in charge of the Court’s Sex Offences List.

She has been a member of the Advisory Committee for the Child Witness Service since its establishment in 2007, and is a member of the State Government’s Jury Directions Advisory Group. She has been acting Chair of the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre Trust, committee member of the Women Barrister’s Association and member of the Equality before the Law Committee.

She holds a Bachelor of Laws at Monash University and began her career in criminal law, first appearing in trials in 1987. In 1995 she was appointed as a Crown Prosecutor and from 1997 to 2001 she was an advocate member of the Legal Profession Tribunal.

We congratulate Her Honour Judge Meryl Sexton on this prestigious appointment and wish her all the best in her new position.

Research Award in Education

Dr Lucinda McKnight (1984) has been awarded one of only two 2022 Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards (DECRAs) in education. She takes up the role of Australian Research Council Fellow at Deakin University to investigate how English teachers are conceptualising and teaching digital writing, over a three-year period. Her project seeks to make English education more relevant to the current and future lives and careers of students. A former English teacher herself, Lucinda is on the council of the Victorian Association for the Teaching of English and is inspired in all her work by fond memories of her wonderful English teachers at PLC, including Ilana Snyder, Pam Chessell and Janet Maher.

Alumni Recognised in Australia Day Honours

We congratulate Old Collegian Helene Bender (Gillman 1968) on being awarded a Member of the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the 2022 Australia Day Honours List for her service to the community through health, education, not-for-profit and sporting organisations.

Cynthia Mahoney

Cynthia Mahoney (1988) has just published her first book called, Cultivate: how neuroscience and well-being support rural leaders to thrive.

Cynthia grew up in Benalla before becoming a boarder at PLC. She studied Agricultural Science at the University of Melbourne and worked for the Department of Agriculture of Victoria for 17 years during which time she gained a Master of Agricultural Science (farm business management economics/rural sociology). She has established her own leadership development practice and is a facilitator, coach and mentor focusing on how to develop sustainable human performance where wellbeing is the foundation.

When she was in Year 11, Cindy Nguyen (2013) attended a National Young Leaders Day conference where she was inspired by a speaker from the Australian Army. The presentation motivated Cindy to expand her leadership skills and challenge herself in a physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding environment and it led, many years later, to her attaining her current position as a commissioned General Service Officer, with the rank of Lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) within the Australian Army.

Following that conference, Cindy was elected as Rosslyn House Captain and a member of the Student Leadership Team. These experiences strengthened her resolve to serve not only the girls at PLC, but to lead and serve others in the future, for a bigger and greater purpose, for our nation.

On completion of her Bachelor of Science (Physiology Major), degree with Honours at the University of Melbourne, Cindy voluntarily served a two-year Contract Full-Time Service (CFTS) with the Australian Army, as an Army Reservist. She has now returned home to Surrey Hills, Melbourne, to pursue a Postgraduate Medicine degree to become a doctor (her life-long ambition) while serving as an Army Reservist. This is in line with her ambition to one day be able to serve and deploy as a Medical Doctor in the Army with combat experience.

Cindy says she owes her leadership and teamwork abilities to the experiences provided at PLC and feels deep gratitude for the school and her education at PLC from 2006 to 2013.

“By sharing my news with current students and Old Collegians, I hope to inspire others to serve in their own ways and follow their dreams, for the benefit and growth of the communities and world around us. It is only by serving from the passion in our hearts that we can truly and positively impact others and the organisations we are in, and I thank PLC for igniting that flame to serve.”

Swee Yue Tan (1992) was awarded the prize of In-House Lawyer of the Year at the Australian Law Awards 2021, which were announced on 2 December. She completed the Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Melbourne in 1997 and has been practising law as an in-house counsel since the 2000s. We congratulate Swee, who is currently with AGL Energy, on this prestigious award and wish her continuing success in her career. Swee’s daughter, Isabelle (2000) is studying a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Biotechnology at ANU and her daughter Cheryl, is currently in Year 11.

Amy Leong (Nhan 2006) was one of 10 female authors of a book collaboration project called, “My Courageous Journey” that launched on International Women’s Day on 8 March 2022. Amy’s chapter is titled, “From pain, birthed purpose” which details some of the challenges related to burnout she experienced prior to leaving private practice as a lawyer. The experience has now put Amy on a mission to end burnout culture so ALL can thrive and not just survive and “live life well” through her burnout prevention and wellbeing coaching business called the LIVE LIFE WELL Movement.

Arani Satgunaseelan (2004) was named in the Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Fast Starters list for 2021 for her role as co-founder Managing Director of management consulting firm Vollardian.

Dr Sonia Fullerton (1988) has been appointed to the role of Deputy Chief Medical Officer at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Sonia is a medically trained palliative care specialist.

PLC 50 (+2) Year Reunion, 19 March 2022

There and Back Again

Everyone has the pure intention to keep in touch with their friends after high school, but the reality is that life isn’t that simple. There are groups of high school friends who remain best friends into university and afterwards, but for most of us, we lose touch once we leave school and begin our careers in the big wide world.

In general, family, school and home location characterise us and heavily influence our associations in later life. Family has been found to have the strongest influence, with schooling being the next most important impact. Teachers guide children on what they want to become in the future; they also push kids to go beyond their limits and help them achieve their best. All these influences shape our character.

Three Old Collegians have suddenly crossed paths at the Federation of Community Legal Centres in Victoria. Louisa Gibbs is the organisation’s CEO; Michelle Taylor is the Operations Manager; and Linda Loveder is the Executive Assistant to the CEO. None of these co-workers had come across ex-PLC girls before, nor had they met each other, as they were all from different years; however, they found they shared a common outlook. The values instilled in these pupils, by the school, have generated a camaraderie in their professional lives.

Whether we like it or not, we are all connected to our teenage years in some way. High school friends strengthen that connection by setting up Facebook groups and organising school reunions to relive the moments from the past. You will always be connected to your secondary school in some way because those were the years when you grew up. We all walked down the same hallways, had the same teachers, sang the same anthem, lived by the same rules and gained close friends as we grew up in the strong social environment our school created for us.

People who went to the same school share a familiar and safe place, no matter how much time or distance separates them, and they can always go back in time and laugh about the silly things that they did at school while growing up.

When you reconnect or connect with someone from the same school, it is as if for a moment, nothing has changed. You share traditions and a unique aspect, aspects that helped define you as you grew up.

We’ve all wondered at times if high school determines who we become as adults and now that these three women have met, many years after their time at PLC, it is obvious that the school environment does have an immense impact on adult lives.

Centres Victoria is a not-for-profit peak body that supports and advocates for Victoria’s 47 Community Legal Centres (CLCs). For fifty years, CLCs have been at the forefront of helping those facing economic, cultural, or social disadvantages to access free legal services; and advocating for more equitable laws.

The Federation of Community Legal

Left to right: Michelle Taylor, Louisa Gibbs and Linda Loveder are delighted to be working together at the Federation of Community Legal Centres (VIC)

Michelle Taylor (Lam 1997) spent her early career years working in community grass roots sports and event management, then went on to spend much of her career in business operations across the corporate sector in the financial, telecommunications and technology industries. She joined the not-for-profit sector in 2019 and in 2021 commenced with the Federation of Community Legal Centres. Michelle has three primary-school-aged children.

In closing, these three women are ever so thankful to PLC for its full academic and social guidance, which has touched their lives and been a lasting influence in their adult lives.

Louisa Gibbs (1992) commenced with the Federation in August 2021. Earlier in her career, Louisa served as Principal Solicitor of Inner Melbourne Community Legal. She also spent 13 years living and working in Vietnam, Solomon Islands and Senegal, working on justice sector strengthening programs, building the capacity of national lawyers, and partnering with women’s groups to draft and advocate for the introduction of dedicated domestic violence legislation in three Pacific Island countries. Louisa and her husband Andrew have three sons aged 14, 13 and 11.

Linda Loveder (Black 1979) is happily married with one child and has travelled extensively and worked throughout her career as a professional Executive Assistant to many CEOs in private, corporate, and not-for-profit organisations. Some major career highlights for Linda were working for Qantas, Mercedes-Benz, and the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne. Linda divides her time between Collingwood and Phillip Island. As Linda is nearing retirement in the next ten years, she will see her only son getting married this year and looks forward to grandchildren.