'Old Collegians’ Chats' is an initiative by the Old Collegians Association, where they arrange past students to come back and speak about their careers and life experiences after MLMC. They aim to inspire and give students insight into various career paths and the challenges they may experience along the way. On Tuesday 19 June Daniel Goodfellow, son of former College Principal John Goodfellow, came back to the College to speak to the Year 12s.
Daniel’s key message was to understand the difference between achievement and character. He also offered advice to the students to jump at opportunities, get a deep sense of your strengths and to play to them relentlessly, to work and play hard and also to be kind to others. Daniel left MLMC in 1995, finishing his schooling in Geelong where his father took up a new Principal post.
Daniel shared his experiences of a winding career path after leaving MLMC, starting with three years at the Victorian College of the Arts as an opera singer. He also took on an advertising agency role that led to an opportunity to work in marketing in New York for six years. Homesickness brought him back, despite the tempting offer of a 2% share in a company, Bai Beverages, which he knew was going places. It recently sold for US $1.7 billion. He said he had no regrets. In 2013, he established his own branding and marketing company in Australia, The Be Counsel, which boasts Boost, Westfield, Sportsgirl and Audi as just some of its big-brand clients.
Although our guest speakers have modestly shared their successes, they have also generously shared their vulnerabilities and the setbacks they encountered. Drawing on our theme “a setback, is a set-up for a comeback”, the program provides role models who demonstrate resilience and encourage the students to have a go. Often it’s the fumbles along the way that propel us forward. So far we have had many past students coming in to speak, including doctors, nurses, a veterinarian, an opera director, a park ranger, a lawyer, a barrister, a social worker, an orthotic and prosthetic technician, a filmmaker, a senior politician and the local mayor.
We would love more Old Collegians to become involved in this program. If you are interested, please contact Luke Stephens at lstephens@mlmc.vic.edu.au
