International Women’s Day Event at Emmanuel Catholic College

On the 6th of March 2024 Aquinas sent 16 Year 10 boys to Emmanuel Catholic College for an International Women’s Day event. It was an amazing and spectacular event that had some great guest speakers, including Angie Bain the Head of Wellness at the Fremantle Dockers, Josh Corbett, and Anya Tighe from the Fremantle dockers, former triple J Host Bridget Hustweight, and best-selling author Dr Kate Reid, who was an Aerospace engineer for the Williams F1 Team as well as the owner and founder of Lune croissanterie. All these people had such great advice and amazing tips to prevent burnout and resilience.

Dr Kate Reid was the highlight of the day, she talked about what it was like to be the only female in a male-dominated industry during her career as an F1 Aerospace engineer. Since Year 8 she wanted to work in the F1 industry. She went to university open days and found out that aerospace engineering was the field for her to study. She worked hard to get into her dream course at RMIT in Melbourne. Once finishing her degree, she got a call from the Williams F1 Team to join them. Out of all the staff, 80-90% of them were technicians and she was the only female technician at the time. She quickly found out that F1 wasn’t her dream job as she said, “Even if you get your dream job, it may not be what you imagined.” She found that stress management helped her a lot and this is where she found baking.

Dr Kate Reid decided that her heart didn’t lie with F1 engineering. She went on to create a bakery which is now known as Lune croissanterie. She has 3 shops in Melbourne, 2 in Brisbane and 2 new stores opening in Sydney this year. Her croissant has been voted by the New York Times as “The best croissant outside of France”. At the end of Kate’s speech, she mentioned that “women are not better than men and vice versa". This is important as both men and women have different and very unique talents in workplaces, and both need to be valued equally. Kate’s bakeries have 70% women to 30% men as well as having a negative pay gap meaning that women get paid more than men as there are more women higher up in the leadership team at Lune. Kate ended her speech by saying “Use the next few years to try new things and don’t settle on a particular career at such a young age. Even if you aren’t sure everyone finds their way to what they love one way or another.”

Angie Bain, the head of wellness at the Fremantle Dockers talked a lot about resilience and burnout. I want to share my favourite quote of the day which was “Resilience isn’t a journey it’s a destination”. This can relate to you a lot as you need to be able to bounce back after something comes your way and to be able to keep a positive mindset and focus on the outcome. She also mentioned that Stress is a good thing, and it helps you find the right coping mechanism for when something else comes up in the future so you can handle it better. Everything happens for a reason, and we need to accept it and move on for the better.

Anya Tighe touched on her preparation and the 5 minutes before bounce down on game day and how everyone has their own method of preparation. Josh Corbett talked about checking in with your mates even if they seem ok as everyone hides and manages things differently.

In conclusion, the International Women's Day event at Emmanuel Catholic College, was an exceptional gathering featuring an impressive line-up of guest speakers who shared invaluable insights on resilience, career transitions, and gender equality in the workplace. Dr Kate Reid's inspiring journey from F1 aerospace engineering to founding Lune Croissanterie highlighted the importance of pursuing one's passion. At the same time, Angie Bain's reflections on resilience resonated with attendees, emphasising the need for a positive mindset in overcoming challenges. Each speaker contributed valuable perspectives, reinforcing the event's message of empowerment and support for women's achievements. Overall, the event served as a beacon of inspiration and empowerment, encouraging attendees to embrace diversity, resilience, and the pursuit of their dreams.

Written by Harrison Agnihotri and Addi Grace