Marian College

Nicole always knew she wanted a career in health but wasn't sure exactly what.

At Marian, she studied the recommended sciences, English and mathematics and went on to study at Otago University. That led her to discovering the wider scope of physiotherapy and she gained entry into phyiso and completed her degree. She now works for the Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust as a Clinical Manager specializing in rehabilitating people post Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury and other neurological conditions.

Sam has worked with Woolworths (previously Countdown) for seven years with various roles during this time. Currently, she holds the position of Finance Manager for Woolworths IT, digital experience & customer care costs across NZ and is involved in the development of a Trans-Tasman app and website.

At Marian, she studied sciences and physical education and went to university to study health science but discovered it was not for her so moved into commerce and Japanese. She holds three degrees (BCom, BA Hons, MEntr Distinction) and ran her own business before selling to a larger company.

Sam is also mother to twin 3.5 year old boys..

Vanessa always planned on being an accountant - her favorite subject was Accounting with Miss Dick. She liked science but was not passionate about it although did her best to keep her options open when choosing subjects and considered nursing, teaching and accounting as her top 3 post high-school career options
Vanessa went to CPIT (Ara) and studied the three-year Bachelor of Nursing degree. She has continued to study since then and was promoted to Clinical Nurse Specialist two years ago.

Vanessa runs the student placement in the operating suite for enrolled nurses from Ara, plus orders and budgets for new surgical instruments (fulfilling her top 3 career options in one hit).

Vanessa is passionate about her role and enjoys being able to do what she does while raising her two children 6 and 8 years old.

Abbey wasn't sure what she would do for a career in her final year at Marian but through the careers department she was connected to Telford - an agricultural polytech near Balclutha where she completed a Level 3 & 4 Equine Certificate.

Although she loved being around horses, it wasn't something she wanted to do full-time and after talking to students doing the Certificate in Agriculture and seeing most of them did not come from a rural background, she decided to give it a go.

The course opened up a new world for Abbey. She learnt a lot about the ins and outs of farming, animal health, budgeting and got to learn everything from sheep shearing to tractor driving and everything in between. The hands-on work placements led to Abbey's first farming job where she continued to learn about sheep, beef and dairy farming. Since then, she has completed her Level 4 Primary ITO Sheep and Beff qualification.

In her spare time, Abbey serves as the chairperson of the Clinton Young Farmers.

Emily studied history and classics at school and enjoyed it so much that she decided to study it at university. Through her degree, she discovered that she really wanted to work in museums and took an internship with the Teece Museum which led to her first job in the industry as a gallery host.

After graduating with her masters degree in history, Emily worked with different collections including two local school archives before securing her dream job back at the Teece museum as assistant curator.

Barbara left school at the end of her sixth form (Year 12) year, loving to read and write but with only 2 school certificate passes. Her first job was at a bank then she became a librarian. Her dream jb however, was to be involved with women and their babies. That finally came to fruition when the Direct Entry Midwifery degree was offered in 1995.

Barbara says she has grown so much in this profession, both mentally and from an educational perspective. She have added to my first degree, studying maternal mental health in New Zealand.

Alice took a broad range of subjects at high school – English, Economics, RE, Textiles, Geography, and PE – and initially went to Teachers College to become a primary school teacher, but in her second year, switched to marketing, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Marketing and Management.

Alice began her career in sales at Coca-Cola, followed by a sales and marketing role at Cookie Time. Today, she is fully immersed in marketing at RedSeed, a Christchurch-based tech company.

Alongside her professional journey, she has also pursued her passion for multisport and adventure racing, recently placing 8th in the Coast to Coast Longest Day event.

Lucy has had a wide range of career experience. She studied Law at Canterbury University and then practiced law for 9 years eventually specialising in banking and finance at Anthony Harper, a leading national law firm.

From there, she moved into business, providing HR strategic and legal support in a medium-sized family business.

At Marian, Lucy enjoyed being involved in drama and musical opportunities and gained her Grade 8 in piano performance from Trinity College. She has currently returned to her musical roots and tutors primary-aged children in practical piano and music theory.

Lucy has various business interests in commercial and residential property development and is currently considering further study in music and/or law.

Serena spent her Year 13 year in East Germany on an AFS Exchange.

On return to NZ, Serena gained a degree in Political Science from University of Canterbury. She then spent a few years on her OE working and travelling around Europe.

Once back in NZ, she decided to further her studies eventually gaining a phD in Political Science.

Serena is currently a Senior Lecturer Above Bar in Political Science, lecturing and carrying out research on various topics.

She recently qualified to run the Berlin Marathon and will compete in that later this year.

Angela studied a mix of subjects at Marian including accounting, economics, statistics, physics, classics, art history and went on to do a Bachelor of Arts at Canterbury majoring in classical studies and history.

From there, she worked for State Insurance before doing her OE beginning in the US as a nanny and then in the UK, Europe, Africa, South and North America travelling and working in various temporary and permenant roles in insurance, accounts and software support.

Angela and her husband started their own manufacturing company at the height of the earthquake recovery in Christchurch. Angela managed accounts, administration, production, HR, IT and set up all of those processes to ensure things run smoothly.

"Whilst I never knew what I wanted to do when I was younger, I understood my strengths and used those in the paths I chose. I hope I may inspire some young ladies to have faith in themselves so they can be successful and follow their dreams."