After leaving Burgmann College in 2009, alum Ashoor Khan has forged a professional path centred around social development, policy and law, and has rejoined our Burgmann community as Treasurer of the BCAA.
It has been quite a journey since finishing up at Burgmann College in 2009 as a Hawker Scholar. Plenty of up and downs, but I must say that I have learned more from periods of adversity along the way, rather than success. During my time at University, I was able to experience College life, while also doing internships for mid/large professional services firms and some federal government agencies. I finished up with a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and Bachelor of Laws and did the typical ‘corporate thing’, which was a graduate program for a large multi-national in Sydney.
Big city working life was not my cup of tea. So, I spent some time with family in Australia, went back to South America, toured the United States and Canada (where I caught up with a Burgmann alum). Then went off to Ireland, Europe and the Middle East. It was a wonderful trip, but I realised that I had to find a ‘new normal’. Travelling without any real purpose can be fun, but it’s not sustainable over the longer-term.
I had previously done an internship with a Community Legal Centre outside of Sydney and that was a good reminder about what I was really passionate about: social and community development. Then I got the opportunity to do another internship near Cape York and that led to a job in Brisbane working in Native Title. A very challenging role, but it was so rewarding to experience so many different communities in outback, rural, regional and coastal Queensland.
By this stage I had finished up a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (GDLP) at ANU largely by distance, but I wanted to go back to the bush again. I had an opportunity to live and work in the Central West/Orana region of NSW (where I also got to catch up regularly with Burgmann alumni). Then transferred to the Southern Tablelands, the Barkly region in the Northern Territory, Far-West/Outback NSW and the New England/North-West (near where I grew up). Some truly unique experiences, coupled with some stints in Western Sydney (where my family now live). Finished a Master of Public Policy and Management through Monash University in Melbourne during that time as well.
After narrowly missing out on a ‘dream job’ in my hometown, I continued with some consulting and contracting work in government across different parts of Greater Sydney. Also did some university teaching, tutoring and marking alongside PhD studies (which are still ongoing). Now I find myself on a work assignment for a couple of months out on the border of the Simpson Desert and channel country (near the QLD, NT and SA border). It’s very remote, extremely hot and the weather can change very quickly out here. At the same time, it is surprisingly refreshing and inspiring to see how well the community overcome the obstacles of distance, climate and overall scarcity.
At Burgmann, I had the great pleasure of participating in different parts of College life, including cricket, hockey, Residents’ Association Executive, Burgmann-Doomadgee Community Partnership, College Council and the Finance Sub-Committee. These experiences taught me a great deal and I think has prepared me for a lot of the challenging situations I have encountered later in my career.
I consider myself fortunate to have attended weddings and kept in touch with so many talented, accomplished and truly wonderful Burgmann alumni since leaving college. I thought putting up with me for three years at College would have been plenty, but I am so grateful to remain in touch via text, phone, LinkedIn (yes—I resisted social media until 2023) and personal catch ups.
Recently, I joined the Burgmann College Alumni Committee (BCAA) and look forward to giving back to this very special community. I keep learning about some of the amazing achievements of alumni since the College’s founding. Sincerely hope that 2025 will be a great year for the College and I hope to catch up with as many alumni as possible.
