OLD SCHOLARS

Cliff Maina

Class of 2014

Woodcroft College High Performance Athletes Program (HPAP) students are very fortunate to have Cliff Maina on hand to share his experience of playing sport at a professional level and his skills as a performance coach.

After graduating, Cliff spent four years playing professional soccer in Australia and the US. When major health issues ended his professional career, he returned to Australia in 2019. During his career Cliff started working as a performance coach with junior athletes. He counts himself fortunate to have worked with national and international athletes in a range of sports from AFL, A-League, Australian Open, Super Netball and IAAF Athletics.

Cliff’s work has focused on improving the physical preparedness of emerging athletes looking to make the step to senior professional level. More recently Cliff has made the transition to sports psychology to add to the services he can offer young athletes and he is finishing his studies in this area.

Cliff was invited back to Woodcroft College to present to our HPAP students on managing mental health in sport and the mental health skills that athletes can use to increase their performance. He also coached the inaugural First XI soccer team throughout their first year in the Premier Division for the SAAS (Sports Association of Adelaide Schools) competition.

“I kept in contact with a few teachers at the College and was asked to get involved with the HPAP cohort,” says Cliff. “There have been many great athletes who have come from the College and I believe the HPAP is a great way to identify and nurture talent.”

Cliff did not hesitate in accepting the exciting opportunity to work with students at this stage of their schooling and sporting careers. He knew he would love to be part of our students’ development.

“Sharing my experiences with current students is always rewarding. It fills me with a sense of pride to see the growth of the College over the past few years,” said Cliff. “I hope to continue to work with staff to drive Woodcroft’s sporting success and improve the students’ experience.”

Rebecca Marshallsay

Class of 2000

Since leaving the College, I have been fortunate to do a lot of two things I love – study and travel.

I completed a Master of Arts (Writing and Literature), which honed my writing and editing skills, giving me the confidence to work as a freelance writer in a range of capacities. In 2020 I completed my Juris Doctor, which gave me the skills to start writing and researching in the field of social justice and jurisprudence.

I have always loved storytelling – from reading and writing, to movies and theatre. I recently found a reflection from primary school where I talked about becoming a writer when I was older, and I still have copies of stories I wrote as a kid. Being a big reader has always inspired me to pursue my own writing.

At the College, some of the projects that I remember most clearly were connected to storytelling. I remember studying Lord of the Flies in Year 10 and the idea of creating allegory in this way completely blew my mind. It set up my passion for examining the power of stories to express our fears, values, hopes and more.

While there isn’t one particular person who inspired me to be a writer, I am appreciative of all of the little bits of support and encouragement I have received along the way from my parents and various teachers. Many teachers introduced me to interesting writers or encouraged my enthusiasm for reading.

My first picture book, Facing the Wave, was published in April 2022. I am currently pitching and polishing a few more children’s picture book stories with the hope of getting more work published, and I am also working on an adult non-fiction manuscript. My dream is to keep writing and to keep getting published – both books and features.

My travel highlights have included travelling on the Trans-Siberian Railway, trekking in Iceland and Patagonia, living in a van in the UK and diving in lots of amazing places. In the years after I finished school, a lot of my overseas travel was connected to youth leadership programs such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award and the Ship for World Youth, and I credit my time at the College for helping me build the skills that helped me get selected to participate.

I relocated to the Gold Coast in 2009 and while I miss Adelaide a lot, I can’t tear myself away from the warm winters.

Jordan Kitchingman

Class of 2017

After graduating in 2017, Jordan came back to the College the following year to work as part of the Production Team for the annual Musical production. As a Stage Manager, Jordan supports our Director on the creative and technical aspects to make sure that each year’s performance comes together. This important support role includes running rehearsals, coordinating the work of the stage crew, and overseeing the entire show for each performance.

Jordan also supports the Drama Faculty and student performances throughout the year working as a sound and lighting designer. He is on hand to help bring each show to life with music and lights.

Jordan’s commitment to the College is driven by his own positive experience with the Arts when he was at the school. He shared that he feels incredibly lucky to be given an opportunity to come back and help create wonderful memories and experiences for other students.

“I really enjoy the positive environment that Woodcroft offers. Teachers and students have such a strong and passionate drive for the Arts, and I am so grateful to be part of this and to feel welcomed back,” said Jordan. “It feels wonderful to make a small difference in students’ lives during their time at the College.”

Jordan is now planning to become a teacher and will be returning to his studies in Secondary Education (after a short stint in the Nursing Degree). He knows that teaching and inspiring the next generation is where his passions truly lie.

Evan Lever

Class of 2005

In 2009 I moved to Melbourne to study a Bachelor of Music Theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts. After graduating, I was lucky to receive the Ron and Margret Dobell Scholarship, which allowed me to study acting in the USA and UK, as well as tour my original cabaret to the New York Music Theatre Festival in 2014.

I’ve always loved musicals and I knew early on that I wanted to be on stage. My chance came when I performed in the College Musical, Viva Mexico. A pair of maracas were thrust into my hands and there was no looking back!

In the 10 years since I started working professionally, I have had a number of highlights including playing Emmet in Legally Blonde The Musical for which I received a Green Room Award nomination.

I was in the ensemble in the World Premiere of Cat Stevens Moonshadow The Musical, played Henry T Dobson in Anything Goes The Musical with Opera Australia, and donned a pair of 6-inch platforms as ABBA’s Benny Anderson in Muriel’s Wedding The Musical with Global Creatures.

I have to thank the drama and musical teachers at Woodcroft, especially John McCall (past staff member) and Rachel McCall, who encouraged my love of performing as a student. I have such fond memories of the plays and musicals during my time at school.

In October 2022 I am returning to Adelaide to perform with State Theatre Company of South Australia in Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart. This play is extremely close to my heart, and I feel privileged to work with an amazing cast and creative team, especially in my hometown. It’s a dream job. Book your tickets!

Georgia Bolton

Class of 2012

I think I had a love of performing from a very early age as I studied violin and piano from around 4 years old and started singing when I was 10. But, Woodcroft College is where I definitely found musical theatre and later acting.

My first College Musical was Grease in 2007, which later became my first professional job! The first play I ever did was Away by Michael Gow for our Year 12 Drama production. I absolutely caught the acting bug.

After graduating from Woodcroft College, I worked and saved for two years before I successfully auditioned and was accepted to study a Bachelor of Musical Theatre at Queensland Conservatorium at Griffith University in Brisbane. Since then, I have been working professionally as an actor and an Acting and Musical Theatre coach.

I still live in Brisbane with my partner Geoff, while also spending chunks of time in Sydney. Professionally, I go by Georgie because another Australian actress with brown hair and brown eyes was already called Georgia Bolton!

After I graduated university and signed with the amazing Mollison Keightley Management, I was cast as Jan in the national tour of Grease: The Arena Experience. I also originated the role of Rex Connor in the original production of The Dismissal in Sydney in 2019 and 2020. I was due to reprise my role in The Dismissal for Sydney Theatre Company at the Opera House in 2021, followed by a national tour in 2022, but the season had to be postponed to 2023 due to COVID.

In 2020 I played Helen in Young Rock for NBC USA and in 2021 I played Helen (I’ve found my niche playing women named Helen) in Joe vs. Carole for Matchbox Pictures/Universal and shot with one of my absolute idols, Kate McKinnon. My career highlight has definitely been playing Judy (weirdly, not Helen?) in God’s Favorite Idiot for Netflix. Working with Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone, Usman Aly, Leslie Bibb, Steve Mallory and Michael McDonald was beyond a dream come true.

I had amazing performing arts teachers at Woodcroft, including past staff members John McCall and Andrew Forder, as well as current teachers Rachel McCall, Renee McCarthy and Adam Goodburn. They instilled in me that being a good person, a hard worker and supportive cast member was more important than talent, and that’s always served me well.

They did an incredible job with the cast on all the musicals I was involved in, and without that experience, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with musical theatre the way I did.
Passionate history lessons, taught by Lee Fenwick (past staff member), sparked a life-long interest in history and politics, which I think had a huge part in landing my role in The Dismissal. Wonderful English classes fuelled my love of reading and Shakespeare, which has been invaluable to me. I have had constant support from teachers all throughout (and beyond) high school.

It is not an exaggeration to say I would not be here if it wasn’t for those teachers and those experiences, but especially because of the added layer of inspiration, love and care they brought every single day. I think this impact also shaped my love of teaching – I understand the impact a great teacher and mentor can have, and I try to live up to the example they set for me.

I also have to say a huge thank you to my Mum and Dad for driving me to and from every lesson under the sun and always believing in me. Thank you also to my brother for sitting in the car while they drove me.

If you told me 10 years ago what I would do after graduating, if I even believed you, I would be incredibly excited and probably feel like I had achieved everything I wanted to. A TV show with Melissa McCarthy and originating a role in an Australian political comedy musical for Sydney Theatre Company at the Opera House were not even on my wildest dreams bucket list. But now, I don’t feel anything like that.

I’m always looking for the next job, the next skill or the next audition. I’m looking forward to jumping back into musical theatre soon, watching my students tick off the goals on their journey, learning new skills, and crossing my fingers for more opportunities. I think I know better now than to pretend I know exactly what those opportunities will be.

Millie Watkins

Class of 2018

Shortly after graduating from the College in 2018, Millie became a trainee at Discovery Holiday Parks. Not long after starting, she was thrown into the deep end, dealing with the bushfires of 2019 and then the COVID-19 Pandemic.  She performed so well in her role, that she was welcomed onto the team at Discovery Parks when her traineeship finished and is loving it.

At the Maxima Graduation and Awards Ceremony held in May 2021, Millie won the Trainee of the Year Award for her traineeship at Discovery Holiday Parks.

Scott Sheridan

Class of 2000

After finishing Year 12 in 2000, Scott completed a Bachelor of Information Technology (Honours) (Advanced Computer and Information Science) and currently works as a Software Engineer and
Volunteer.

Scott has travelled as much of the world as he can over the past 10 years. He has visited over 65 countries on six continents and had some exciting adventures along the way.

He has worked in Thailand and volunteered in Fiji for two years to develop, run and analyse the data from a nationwide survey of every household in every Fijian village. He received an Innovation
Award by the iTaukei Affairs Board for his work.

Prior to the COVID pandemic, Scott was volunteering in Kalimantan (Indonesia), but was forced to return to Australia and has spent the last six months living on Christmas Island.

Lenara Scandrett

Class of 2010

After completing a Bachelor of Forensic Biology and Analytical Science and an Honours Degree in Forensic Wildlife Science at Flinders University, Lenara is currently a Forensic Biologist with Forensic Science SA.

For her Honours project, Lenara went to Cambodia where she worked with internationally renowned charity ‘Free the Bears’ in their bear sanctuary, collecting saliva samples from nearly 200 rescued bears.

Lenara has maintained a very strong friendship with Emily Bartholomew (Class of 2010) and the two spent six months backpacking and couch surfing around Canada and the US in 2011. They crossed 21 states and made great memories to last a lifetime.

Lenara credits Mr Suneel Kookana as one of her biggest influences from the College. She is very grateful for the knowledge he shared and his enthusiasm for Science.

Ellie Hutton

Class of 2012

Since leaving the College in 2012, Ellie has completed a Bachelor of Health Science at the University of Adelaide with majors in Anatomy and Public Health. She went on to do a Master of Audiology at Flinders University. Since graduating from Audiology in 2017, she has worked as a Rehabilitation and Diagnostic Audiologist in Darwin.

Ellie currently works for the Northern Territory Top End Health Service. While she lives and works predominantly in Darwin, her work has involved travelling to remote communities across the Top End to provide services to those who can’t easily access care, something that Ellie thoroughly enjoys and feels privileged to have as part of her job.

Scott Broadley

Class of 2014

About six years ago, Scott met Christine who was from Denmark and the two became friends. They dated long distance for about two years, before she moved to Australia to live with him while he worked in the Air Force.

They lived together in Australia for about three years, but after his term of service ended in late 2019, they decided to move to Denmark together.

Unfortunately COVID put their plans to travel around Europe on hold, but they were able to travel to Christine’s home in Denmark to wait out the pandemic.

Scott and Christine were married in November 2020.

Matthew Barkway

Class of 2001

Matthew and his wife Sophie, along with their 3-year-old son Lachlan, live in Port Lincoln. Matt is a Tuna Diver for six months of the year and he and his family spend the remainder of each year exploring on their yacht and living on their block of land at Sheringa on the Eyre Peninsula.

Charles Tindley

Class of 2011

Charles is a Graduate of Architecture after completing a Bachelor of Architectural Design and a Master of Architecture at the University of Adelaide.

Since graduating from the College, Charles has travelled to the USA, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, along with some travel in Australia.

Sarah Christie

Class of 2010

Sarah completed a Bachelor of Podiatry at UniSA in 2014. She is currently employed as a Senior Podiatrist and Allied Health Divisional Lead Sunrise EMR Activation at Flinders Medical Centre.

Sarah’s partner Chris Hrycek is a Consultant Gastroenterologist and General Physician.

Sarah has travelled to Thailand, Vietnam, Vanuatu and Spain.

Jasmine Werneburg

Class of 2014

Jasmine is working as a piano teacher and administration assistant while completing her Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice combined with Business Management (Advanced Leadership) at Flinders University.

Jasmine has also experienced a six month exchange in Malaysia and a study tour in Indonesia.

Nicole Skewes (nee Kerkemeyer)

Class of 2014

Nicole completed her Bachelor of Economics (Advanced) at the University of Adelaide.

She is currently Assistant Manager, Capital and Funding for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.

2019 was an exciting one as Nicole married Toby in April.

Nicole has enjoyed two trips to Europe since leaving school.

Ben Green

Class of 2014

Ben is busy running his own business. What makes this achievement even more special is that Ben started the business as part of his Year 9 Personal Project. RepairTech has been running for eight years servicing laptops, computers, iPads and phones.

Ben has also managed to fit in a Bachelor of Business Management at Flinders University. Most recently RepairTech has expanded operations into their first service centre in McLaren Vale.

In Ben’s words … “I just thought I would share with you the efforts of the Personal Project and how effectively it has shaped my entire career. Talk about powerful stuff! All of this from a school assignment!”

Emily Rowland

Class of 2015

Emily finished her time at Woodcroft College as Dux of her Class of 2015 after completing the IB Diploma.

After school, Emily moved to Canberra to study at the Australian National University (ANU) and the end of 2019 saw her complete her Honours in Neuroscience.

Throughout her university studies, Emily has also made time to mentor first year students both in her degree and in biology courses. She volunteers at her local retirement community, plays Tenpin Bowling with the Australian National Training Squad, and is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Now she has added Rhodes Scholar to her list of achievements!

Caitlin Murphy

Class of 2013

After leaving school, Caitlin made the decision to study Architecture at UniSA.  She always loved art at school and while she considered other design careers, she is very glad that she chose to take her artistic skills in this direction.

After five years at university to complete first her Bachelor and then my Master of Architecture she was really pleased to secure a position with Grieve Gillett Andersen in Adelaide.  She has worked there since the start of 2019 and is grateful to have amazing mentors who are invested in improving her professional skills.

Travelling is one of her most loved activities. She was lucky to go on the very first Concert Band trip to the US with Woodcroft College. Then during her university studies, she went back to the US and also to Italy. She has enjoyed a trip to Ireland to reconnect with her parents’ heritage and family, and a more recent trip to Japan at the start of 2020.

Caitlin and her partner are currently building our first home together. He is also a Graduate of Architecture and their future career plans may see them heading interstate for a while before settling back in Adelaide.

Rebecca Parsons

Class of 2012

Since graduating from Woodcroft College, Rebecca has completed an undergraduate degree at the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Science. She was then accepted into the Doctor of
Physiotherapy Masters Program at the University of Melbourne.

During her studies she had the opportunity to study overseas at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst for two semesters and complete a physiotherapy placement at a cancer research
institute in Copenhagen.

Rebecca recently graduated from the Doctor of Physiotherapy with first class honours and she has secured a job as a physiotherapist at Austin Hospital, one of the main metropolitan hospitals
in Melbourne.

Patrick Murray

Class of 2012

After completing school Patrick began working full time in the family fabrication business Pelican Panels, where he completed an apprenticeship.

He developed very high skills in welding and metal fabrication, furthering his skills through his own research and hours of practice.

In 2018 Patrick went to America to attend Fabtech, an annual expo for the metal trades and fabrication businesses.

He met several contacts and tradespeople, who he had made connections with through his Instagram page Tigjunkie.

Whilst at the expo, Patrick entered a welding competition and won first prize. A great accomplishment when considering the large number of attendants as well as the level of skill he was up against.

Our previous Head of Art, Mr Fox, approached Patrick earlier this year to design and make two kangaroo sculptures for the College. They now sit proudly in the Year 6/7 playground area.
Patrick is currently employed and playing a major role at Pelican Panels, whilst building an impressive reputation as a highly skilled welder and fabricator.

Roshanak Doroodkar (nee Golzar)

Class of 2010

Roshanak completed studies in Construction Management & Economics at the University of South Australia. She is currently working as a Practice Manager.

Along with overseas travel including Israel, Turkey, Thailand and Mauritius, Roshanak is married and is mum to a beautiful daughter.

Emily Hutchesson

Class of 2010

Since graduating in 2010, Emily has pursued her passion for Korfball. The sport was introduced to her at the College by Mr Giles. She has been playing for the Australian team and in 2019 had the opportunity to join a team that plays at a much higher level.

She recently moved to Nijmegen in The Netherlands to play in one of the Dutch Leagues for one year.

Benjamin Day

Class of 2009

Since graduating from Woodcroft College, Ben went on to study Engineering (Mechanical and Sports) at the University of Adelaide, gaining good theoretical understanding of mechanical systems and sports equipment design.

This and his passion for sport led to a graduate year in 2014 at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra. Ben gained sports science experience, and redesigned and rebuilt equipment for the Australian Sailing Team.

After continuing this work in Sydney, Ben spent two months abroad backpacking by himself in Peru and Bolivia.

On his return he applied for a new role with High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) testing sailing equipment.

Ben left Adelaide in 2015 with the NZ Sailing Team, travelling to Japan in preparation for the 2020 Olympics. He enjoys exploring our beautiful brother country (NZ) on weekends.

He met his fiancé Emily in Auckland and has recently started a new role at HPSNZ as a Data Analyst.

With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics just around the corner, Ben works with data to help athletes, coaches and sports people learn from their mistakes and enhance their performance.

Ben would like to share the following quote:
‘Follow your passion and curiosity, learn from your mistakes, and always seek to improve. You never know what might be waiting for you around the corner’.

Sarah Fletcher (nee Timmins) and Lloyd Fletcher

Classes of 2006 & 2007

Since graduating Woodcroft College, Sarah and Lloyd married and moved overseas to the United Kingdom. They are currently living in Southampton.

Lloyd was awarded a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellowship to investigate the mechanics of bone fracture at Southampton University.

Tapping into their passion for music, Lloyd and Sarah have formed an alternative rock music duo called Feathers, Wood ‘N’ String.

They have a huge following on Instagram and Facebook and their music can be found on all major music streaming platforms.

Damien Buswell

Class of 1996

Since leaving school Damien followed a path which ultimately led him to becoming a Pilot. After employment and training with the Air Force he decided to repeat Year 12 in order to achieve a higher tertiary entrance score and shortly after accepted a Pilot position with the RAAF. Damien flew 275 hours over two aircraft types and earned his wings in September 2003.

He flew the C130J Super Hercules out of Sydney for four years and was deployed to the Middle East, travelled to the US, the Pacific Islands and South East Asia.

2008 was a busy year, as it was the year he got married and became a flying instructor. He and his wife moved to Perth for two years, where they had two children, before returning to Sydney.

In 2012, his wife was posted to the US as a Foreign Liaison Officer, so they moved their family to Georgia for three years.  Damien worked for the Air Force, contributing to the C130J upgrade program and for Lockheed Martin in Atlanta. In 2016, the family returned to Australia and Damien was posted to the VIP Squadron in Canberra as an Operations Flight Commander and flew the 737 Boeing Business Jet.

He recently completed a Masters in Military and Strategic Studies at the Australian Command and Staff College and was posted to the Defence Flight Safety Bureau, where he continues to write aviation safety policy for the ADF. In August 2019 his wife was once again given the opportunity to work abroad and they moved to the Australian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.

Laura Bowman

Class of 1999

Laura is now running her own business, Bright Brainz, supporting children with learning difficulties. As someone with dyslexia herself, she is now passionate about helping to change the lives of many others.

Laura is currently studying her Certificate IV in Disability, and Child, Youth and Family Intervention. She is married with two children.

Jacqui Copley

Class of 1999

Jacqui has enjoyed some fantastic overseas experiences including living in Canada for three years. This gave her the opportunity to volunteer at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Other travel has included trekking to Everest Base Camp, an African safari and cruising in Alaska. Jacqui is working as a Lounge Manager for Virgin Airlines after completing her Diploma of Management – Hospitality Operations and Sales/Marketing at Charles Darwin University.

Jessica Penglis (nee Napper)

Class of 1999

Jessica has travelled extensively to around 50 countries with highlights including volunteering in China working with pandas, sailing down the Ganges and camping in Kenya.

She counts herself lucky to have lived in beautiful cities including London and Zurich. Both of her children were born in Switzerland, but the family is now back in Adelaide.

Jessica has completed post graduate studies in intensive care nursing at Flinders University.

Kelly Ford (nee Pickard)

Class of 1999

After leaving the College, Kelly headed to Flinders University to complete a Bachelor of Technology and Bachelor of Science (Honours).

Today, her life is being lived on the road after she and her husband made the decision to sell up and travel Australia with their three children.

‘Tin Lid Travels’ on Facebook and Instagram is providing a place to share this amazing trip with family and friends.