Class Notes 2000–2005

During his years at Burgmann Matthew competed in fencing competitions alongside his Science studies, playing for Australia as a Junior and winning Junior Nationals in 2002. On leaving Burgmann in 2002, Matthew went to UC Berkeley for 12 months, returning to Canberra in August 2003 to live off campus, while he finished his BSc Hons in Chemistry/Maths. On completion, Matthew went to Oxford to do his PhD in Biophysics. In 2013, Matthew returned to Australia, living in Sydney. In 2018 he started working at UNSW as a group leader, where he now leads a small team working in synthetic biology. His team mostly focuses on the evolution and origin of motility - ie how things started moving. Matthew has also continued to fence, competing at the Commonwealth Championships in 2014 and 2018, as well as competing in the World Championships and Asian Championships in 2022.

By the time Michael arrived at Burgmann, he had already been living away from home and his home country since he was fourteen years old. He credits both Burgmann and the ANU for enabling him to truly grow into his own person. It was at university that he discovered that he loves rowing, embraced his calling a lawyer and made life-long friends.

After uni, Michael eventually returned home to Papua New Guinea and commenced law practice, first with his family's law firm Henaos Lawyers and then Blake Dawson (now Ashurst). Thereafter he took up the role of Senior Legal Counsel at Bank South Pacific, heading up the bank's litigation and dispute resolution practice. In 2017, he transitioned into the telecommunications space when he was appointed Head of Legal & Regulatory at Digicel. At a recent ANU Alumni event, Michael remarked that “Burgies are everywhere!”.

“In fact, just over 12 months ago, Digicel Pacific was acquired by Telstra, whose CEO and MD is none other than a Burgie herself, Vicki Brady. I had the pleasure of meeting Vicki in Port Moresby recently, and I found her to be as inspiring as she is down-to-earth.”

Michael is also Chairman of the Digicel PNG Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm. The Foundation has invested over PGK160m (~AU$70m) in health and education projects right across Papua New Guinea. “We give the business its social license to operate and that's a privilege and responsibility that we do not take lightly,” Michael says.

In addition, Michael sits on the board of the Papua New Guinea Chamber of Commerce & Industry and is a member of the Advisory Council of the PNG Sustainable Development Program.

Having represented Papua New Guinea in outrigger canoeing, Michael continues to play an active role in sport administration, most notably as a board member of the Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee. He is Team PNG’s Chef de Mission to the Commonwealth Games - Birmingham 2022.

His key message to current and future Burgies is this: “Maximise every opportunity that Burgmann presents. Get out of your room, share your world view with others, and allow yourself to grow by being challenged and by challenging others. Discomfort has a tendency of growing character, so take that in your stride and embrace it all—the disappointments as well as the successes!”

Dayne spent 10 years in the Royal Australian Navy Band prior to retraining as a primary school teacher and is currently Assistant Head of Middle School at a large independent school in Newcastle.

After graduating, Daniel studied graduate medicine from 2007 to 2011, but he says these studies took a toll on his health, so since 2011, he has been tutoring schoolchildren in his hometown of Oxford, UK. Initially he cycled around the city, tutoring children in their homes, but since the pandemic he became an online tutor. He enjoys numerous hobbies, including creative writing, gardening and music, and keeps in contact with his Burgmann friends. He attended the Burgmann reunion in Singapore last summer, which he says was delightful.

Dr Nina Markovic Khaze was at Burgmann College in 2005-06 as a Masters student in International Relations and Diplomatic Studies, for which she received an award. She began working in the public service and then the parliamentary research service for seven years, which was the best experience of her career in Canberra – combining advisory, academic and policy work. Nina went back to pursue her PhD at the ANU in Political Science, which she completed in 2015. She lectured in International Relations, Diplomacy and Security Studies at UNSW and Macquarie University in Sydney. This year, Nina co-founded Immunity Group Australia with Dr Douglas H. Jones MD, specialising in food allergies and microbiome translational research. She also works as a journalist part-time, with more than 10 years of radio journalism experience for the national broadcaster, SBS. Her connection to Burgmann College was maintained through alumni networks as well as the BAM Mentoring experience, which she finds very rewarding.

'I've kept in touch with some of my Burgmann College mates, and even though many years have passed since our graduation it is as if the times stopped; our infrequent encounters take us all gladly back to Burgmann College days whenever we meet, now in an expanded setting with families and all,' says Dr Markovic Khaze. 'I hope that all Burgmann College alumni continue to contribute to the Burgmann College community life, as it is truly a national treasure and one of a kind.'

Julie Lillejord is a Burgmann alumna from 2006. Since graduating from ANU, she has spent 10 years working internationally for various UN agencies in Africa, Asia and USA, which has allowed her to not only travel the world, but it also provided her with a strong understanding of and competence in Human Rights and Inclusion. In the course of her professional career, Julie has held a particular focus on gender equality and protection. She is currently working for Plan International Norway in Oslo.

As a Head of Institutional Partnerships, Julie is responsible for strategic account management of institutional partnerships, focusing on ensuring quality and growth in funding and partnerships. She ensures compliance and provides ongoing support to safeguard donor account relations, and has oversight of results management procedures, monitoring and documentation

Julie says that she has extremely fond memories from her time at Burgmann. “I tell my kids about the feisty kangaroos in the garden, the noisy kookaburras waking me in the morning and riding my bike around Canberra. Some of my housemates in Burgmann are my very closest friends today, and we are grateful for the wonderful time we had in Australia.”

Since graduating from ANU, Shadab has pursued a number of different career paths—from support engineer at a large consumer electronics brand and corporate IT manager at a large recruitment firm, to digital marketing and business development for tech start-ups. This included innovation implementation and advisory services to the Prime Minister’s Office of Bangladesh for the A2i project, supported by the United Nations Development Programme and United States Agency for International Development. More recently, Shadab worked in business development at CHOICE Test Research, the research wing of Australia’s largest advocacy group (201-2021), and in May this year was appointed Chief Operating Officer at Canberra-based boutique management consulting firm, The Social Outcomes Lab (SOULAB), supporting organisations creating social change.

Chantelle spent 20 years working in medical research, in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. She is currently undertaking a PhD with the Safety Science Innovation Lab at Griffith University in Brisbane.