What I Did / What I Do

TRITIA DEVISHA

“I’ve always found the mundane boring.”

My name is Tritia DeViSha. Most people know me as Trish, because 99% of people I meet never know how to pronounce my first name when they see it written, so I just try to make it simple.

I’m an actress, model, filmmaker, presenter, creatrix, & Yoga & TaiChi/Qigong Instructor, as well as many other things. I’m an artist at heart, and I wear many hats; my practice is the glue that unifies everything & keeps it all together.

I am passionate about everything I do and have in my life, and I let my passions drive me. I believe that life needs to be lived with passion, as it is said in the three points of Lord Shiva’s trident (or Trishul), follow your passion. When you are working with Passion you find Purpose, and with Purpose you achieve Power, the Power of the Universe working behind you to achieve your goals & dreams. Continue reading →

DAVID BLACK

“If the show folds in a year or two, I might end up being the guy working behind the counter at 7 Eleven.”

I’m an artist, a musician and a film-maker. My ‘day’ job for the past 20 years has been telemarketing. I’m hoping to give it up soon and take the plunge into working full time in the entertainment industry.

By the time I started high school, it was obvious I was going to be an artist. I enjoyed and did well at art subjects, but was pretty patchy on everything else. In fact, I was considered a troublemaker and the class clown/rebel. Continue reading →

JOHN PATSOUKAS

“If you won and played well, life was great!!”

I am a HR Manager for a state government department, and also a senior assistant soccer coach.

All I knew after high school was that I needed to get a degree. I was pretty strong in economics, so I enrolled in Monash to get my economics degree. I didn’t enjoy studying the subject, but I got through the three years.

When I finished university, I was still very naïve and clueless about the world. My parents were typical Greek immigrants who worked hard and sacrificed everything for me and my sister. Continue reading →

SHAUN QUADE

“You ask yourself what sort of restaurant do you want? What kind of food will we do? Who will be our customers?”

I am a chef-owner of Lûmé restaurant in South Melbourne.

I wanted to cook from an early age, despite not having any role models who were adept in the kitchen amongst my family. I’m not sure why, cooking was just something I was drawn to.

High school was a necessary evil, I didn’t get much out of it. I’ve always been quite self-sufficient, and if there’s something I want to learn, I will take it upon myself to do so – I won’t wait to be taught. I find researching and learning something on my own a lot more satisfying.

One of my first jobs was working at McDonalds Continue reading →

PETER SEATON

“I think it is really important for any artist to get to a point where you value your work enough not to give it away for free.”

I am an artist, currently specializing in murals and street art.

I had a gravitation towards art from an early age. I did have an aptitude for it in school, though I never felt like I was the best at it – I tended to compare myself to people who were better than me. After high school, I did a diploma of fine art at Whitecliffe College of Art in Auckland.

After finishing my Diploma in Fine Art, I decided I wanted a pragmatic experience in something that I could easily make money doing. The Faculty of my art college eluded that the reality of making it in the art world was rather bleak. Continue reading →

JESS GABRIELLI

“I’ve learnt over the years that nothing should stop you from asking for what you want.”

I am an artist and a movement practitioner, primarily sharing my work through coaching in the field of strength and conditioning. Recently, I combined both these passions into a business called Foldenmove.

I grew up doing ballet and gymnastics, and perhaps through that I developed an interest in movement and fitness. At the same time, I loved art and that was my original direction. The subject I focused most on was always the human body; I was fascinated with ways that visually translated it, and my interest in human movement ended up feeding into it. Continue reading →

KOT MONOAH

“Having lived through civil war and unrest, I’ve learnt to see the difference between the rule of law and the rule of men.”

I am a lawyer at Slater and Gordon, specializing in personal injury law and a community leader at South Sudanese Community Association.

My path to law is a long journey. I came here thirteen years ago, aged 21.

I was born in South Sudan and my family became internally displaced during the civil war. We first moved to Ethiopia, and then to Kenya, where we lived for twelve years at the Kenyan Outback Refugee Camp of Kakuma. Eventually, we were accepted into Australia as refugees. So a total of 18 years of my whole life I was displaced as a refugee. Continue reading →

CANDICE TAN

“I think that lawyers, by nature, are incredibly driven. This can be a blessing and a curse.”

I am currently a Judge’s Associate at the Supreme Court of Victoria. Just a few months ago, I was a lawyer ‘in-between’ jobs.

As a child, I had always been interested in literature and the humanities. It was pretty usual to find me with my nose between a book, typically Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. I progressed on to Jane Eyre at the ripe-young age of 11. How I dealt with the heavy content in that novel is anyone’s guess!

In terms of my background – I was born in Singapore and moved to Melbourne for high school at 12. My parents were set on giving me an all-rounded education (other than through rote learning) and Australia was the perfect choice. They valued education above all else, as they never had the opportunity to attend university themselves. Continue reading →

KAREN WONG

“I think of all the people I’ve helped in the last fifteen years to start a new life in Australia, and it brings me satisfaction.”

I am an immigration lawyer and a businesswoman.

I started out wanting to be a doctor, but as a result of a serious illness, I changed my mind and decided upon law. However, I still had an interest in science, so I did a combined degree at Monash University – Bachelor of Science and Law. I thought that would lead my down the path of some science-related law work, like intellectual property.

But when I finished my degree, I found that as a newly admitted lawyer, the employment market was quite tough and I had to take whatever job was available to me at the time. I applied to a few places, and eventually got an offer through a recruitment agency to interview with a firm that was looking for a Chinese speaking lawyer. Continue reading →

NOAM GREENBERGER

“I think that philosophically people should understand the legal system that is governing them.”

I am a Practice Leader in the Disputes & Litigation team at LegalVision.

I wouldn’t say that I always knew that I would be a lawyer because that wouldn’t be true.

After finishing school, I went to Israel to study in a Jewish learning institution for a couple of years. I am Jewish, but having never seen the country, I was interested in finding out about it. I really enjoyed it, and studied Jewish texts and law while there. Continue reading →