Where are they now? Nine NTCET star students and the paths they took after school
They graduated school as the Territory’s high achievers but where did it get them? As exams get underway, nine share their at times unconventional career paths.
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Thousands of students across the NT are set to sit their final exams this week, with university offers just beyond the horizon.
It’s an experience shared by Australians nationwide – but many of the NT’s past top performers have said Territory schooling offers a unique leg-up against the competition.
Alternative pathways, regional requirements, and small town opportunities are a common theme in the post-school lives of Territorians from as far back as two decades ago.
Here’s where eight of those students have wound up since leaving their high school days behind.
Vanja Bulut – Barrister
After relocating to Darwin with her family as a Bosnian War refugee at the age of eight, Vanja Bulut has worked hard to become a well-respected Australian barrister.
But she said the journey to her dream job was a roundabout one and urged future students not to be deterred by their grades.
Ms Bulut said she did not speak English when she arrived in Australia in 1996, but she quickly learned with the help of her teachers at Anula Primary School.
By the time she completed her secondary education at Darwin High School in 2004, she had her sights set on a legal career.
“I didn’t get that high a mark (in school) but I knew I wanted to pursue a career in law,” she said.
“I enrolled into an arts degree at University of New South Wales … and I majored in philosophy and politics and international relations.
“I finished my art degree from UNSW, I graduated, and … then I went to Sydney University for law.”
Ms Bulut said one of her career highlights since completing her legal studies in 2011 was appearing in the High Court.
“Every decision handed down by the High Court is an important one,” she said.
“I was involved in a matter in 2021 that went all the way to the High Court … and my client was successful.”
Reflecting on her journey, Ms Bulut urged the current cohort of year 12 students – and future cohorts – to remember a direct route into a preferred course wasn’t always necessary.
“There are always alternative paths,” she said.
“If I could – as my year 12 self – draw a picture of where in an ideal world I would be 20 years’ time, this is exactly where I would be.”
Elizabeth Duguid – Hockey star and engineer
Hockey One goalie Elizabeth Duguid isn’t just a legend on the field – she’s also a full time engineer with a history of academic achievements.
Ms Duguid started a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Engineering at University of Western Australia in 2011 after a gap year.
The Darwin High School graduate wrapped up a Master of Professional Engineering in 2017 and is now working as a senior engineer in Perth.
Though she had a “really good school experience”, Ms Duguid said her key advice to year 12 students was to “make sure that you’re taking care of yourself”.
She said hockey was a core part of her life throughout her academic journey – including high school, when she graduated as one of the top 20 NTCET students in 2009.
Ms Duguid said the sport was a balm to the pressures of study and work, but after a life dedicated to shooting for a place in high-level hockey leagues, it was time to take a step back.
“(Hockey has) always been a good release for me,” she said.
“I’ve been very grateful for the opportunities that I’ve had with it, and I’ve really enjoyed it, but I’m looking now to move into the next phase of my life.
“(I will) still be involved in community level sport, but just have a little bit of a break from high level stuff.”
Joshua McCann – Syndications officer
A Territory education has afforded Joshua McCann a lifetime of opportunities he may not have been able to access in other states, he said.
The now-London based International Finance Corporation syndications officer spent his high school years involved with model-UN and debating, which took him and his peers interstate to forge lifelong connections.
These experiences helped him secure a scholarship to study law and commerce at Bond University after he graduated from Darwin High School in 2004.
“I spent a semester in Ethiopia in the middle of (my studies) and I spent a semester at the end in the US in North Carolina,” he said.
“I did an exchange at Duke Law School in the final four months of 2008, (which) was also the Obama election and I worked on a senate campaign.”
After completing his studies, Mr McCann volunteered with and worked for several non-profit organisations in Nigeria and Sierra Leone before returning to the US to complete an MB at the University of Philadelphia.
“I think one of the things that’s really cool about doing school in the Territory is that there’s a ton of opportunities that are open to you,” he said.
“I think it’s worth finding anything that holds any appeal to you (and) add something to your school experience that you might not get the chance to do everywhere in Australia.”
Asha Tonkin-Reeves – Molecular scientist
‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ is an intimidating question as graduation day approaches, but molecular scientist Asha Tonkin-Reeves says it’s okay not to know.
The Territory’s top Indigenous student of 2014 said when her own studies were wrapping up, she didn’t have a “strong goal” but “just knew (she) like science”.
“I went into something related to that,” Ms Tonkin-Reeves said.
“By the end of my undergraduate studies and certainly during my Honours, I had a strong idea: I wanted to be a researcher, and I’m currently a Molecular Scientist.”
The keen academic completed a Bachelor of Biomedicine with Honours followed by a PhD with the Department of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Sciences at Melbourne University.
But the Katherine High School graduate said even after her studies, the field she works in now is “quite different”.
“My main focus was cancer biology, particularly autophagic proteins. Now, I do insect identification and am generating a reference database of insects found in remote and rural areas,” she said.
“I’m still pretty new at my current job but I’m hopeful that I’ll have some amazing experiences here.”
Her advice to the NT’s current and future Year 12 students – aside from watching out for hefty student loans – was to not worry about not having a future mapped out by the end of high school.
“In my opinion, it’s better to take a break and think it over before committing to something long-term.”
Jenna Goldney – Medical student
After two years of working as a lifeguard and ski instructor, one of 2019’s top 20 NTCET performers has finally landed a spot in one of the courses she had dreamt of.
Essington School 2019 graduate Jenna Goldney is in her third year of a Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine at Monash University – and she hopes her journey is proof a direct route to uni isn’t the only option for the next cohort school-leavers.
Ms Goldney spent 2020 working as a lifeguard after her gap year travel plans to South America were dashed thanks to Covid, and she picked up work as a ski instructor for three months in Perisher during the colder months of 2021.
But in 2022, it was time to hit the books again.
“I applied to do medicine at most of the undergraduate courses across Australia, because I know that it’s quite competitive and I didn’t do very well in the UCAT (University Clinical Aptitude Test),” Ms Goldney said.
Ms Goldney said her wide net of applications came after she was knocked back for a spot at University of Tasmania in 2020.
During her latest round of applications, she received offers from James Cook University and Monash University.
“My advice would be to apply everywhere and then make decisions from what comes back,” she said.
“The UCAT is not the end or be all, and neither is your ATAR.
“You don’t know if you don’t try.”
Karan Anand – Managing director
Karan Anand graduated from Darwin High School in 2004 as one of the Territory’s top NTCET students.
He spent the next few years studying commerce and working as a Deloitte consultant.
But when the opportunity arose to be part of the global tech takeover, Mr Anand said he could not turn it down.
He said “taking the punt to join an early stage company” was not without its risk but was worth it to “be part of the story”.
“When they tell the story of our generation in a thousand years’ time, they’re not going to be talking about Trump and Obama or Biden – they’re going to be talking about how software ate the world,” Mr Anand said.
He is now the Australian managing director of Hnry and has played a key role in establishing the company’s presence in Australia.
Like many, Mr Anand reiterated how little a student’s ATAR or grades in high school can truly affect the future.
“Don’t let yourself get to a point where you stress so much over the mechanics of year 12 in school that it breaks your spirit of being a lifelong learner,” he said.
“The Australian schooling system in general is pretty good in that … it’s actually about understanding fundamental concepts, until it gets to the last year or two where you have to nail the art of doing an exam.
“The ones who are really good thinkers are the ones who are going to sort of champion the rest of the 21st century.”
Rhiannon Pulford – Freelance consultant
“Choose your own adventure.”
It’s the best piece of advice freelance consultant Rhiannon Pulford had to offer the current year 12 cohort after 20 years of building her own adventure.
Ms Pulford never imagined a career for herself, but has built hospitality businesses – including a nightclub in Kenya and cafes in Spain – and worked as a freelance consultant since she finished high school in 2004.
“You’re only young once, so enjoy it – take a gap year, earn some cash, see the world, think hard about what you actually want from your one, precious, life,” she said.
“Study more or don’t, buy a house or don’t, have kids or don’t.
“Worry less about what people might think, spend as much time as you can with the people you love, take risks, wear sunscreen.”
Ms Pulford said her Territory education gave her a “thirst for adventure” and made her “curious about the world”.
Leila Heinrich – Peer support worker
Senior peer support worker Leila Heinrich has set her sights on becoming a champion for mental health to help young Territorians overcome the toughest of challenges.
Ms Heinrich said her own experience with mental health struggles in school gave her the nudge she needed towards a career in supporting others.
“In high school – especially year 11 – I had a really hard time with mental health and received support from headspace during that time, which was part of me being able to do well in year 12,” she said.
Ms Heinrich received one of the highest NTCET scores in the Territory in 2019 after she graduated from The Essington School.
She picked up work with headspace – where she had been volunteering throughout year 12 – after she began a social work degree in 2021.
She said she recently made the switch to occupational therapy because it was “a bit more her speed” but still had time to figure out what the future looked like for her.
“I’m very passionate about youth mental health,” she said.
“I’m really making sure that young people in the NT have access to those services – because it can be really hard to access services – and also are able to feel supported when they do.”
Patricia Tamayo – Project manager
Travelling to 46 countries “and still counting” is among Patricia Tamayo’s highlights since graduating as one of the Territory’s top 20 NTCET students 15 years ago.
The project manager has been travelling “a lot” and even married her now-husband in Italy two months ago.
“I caught the travel bug in year 12 on my first trip with friends in Bali – surprise, surprise,” she said.
Ms Tamayo said her education in the Territory – which included a double degree in Law and Commerce with Honours at Charles Darwin University – had an incredibly positive impact on her life and career.
She said she was drawn to her London-based project management role by “passion and (her) personality” but she was set up for success early thanks to the connections and experiences a “small city like Darwin” had to offer.
“The Territory and all it has to give can make you stand out in many ways,” Ms Tamayo said.
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