From poets to online science stars, meet the University of Wollongong grads taking the world by storm
From trailblazing young poets to award-winning writers and Tik Tok science stars, University of Wollongong graduates are taking Australia – and the world – by storm. Meet them here.
The South Coast News
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From trailblazing poets to award-winning writers and Tik Tok science stars, university graduates from the Illawarra and the south coast are taking Australia – and the world – by storm.
The University of Wollongong has long been a destination for students across the state seeking out a quality education in an idyllic coastal setting.
According to a survey by the Federal Government’s Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching, also known as QILT, employers’ overall satisfaction with UOW graduates was 91.7 per cent.
That score secured UOW the top spot among universities nationally.
For writer and journalist Patrick Lenton, UOW provided a practically-minded course that he said helped propel him into a career in creative writing.
“What I was really drawn to was they’re quite unique focus on practical writing and practical creative writing, writing short stories and novels,” he said.
Shellharbour resident Caitlin Vickers said the school helped her fulfil her passion for people management, helping her secure a role post-graduation and in the midst of the pandemic at one of the world’s largest alcohol distributors.
“I did part time study and part time work at UOW because I was a management cadet at the university,” she told The South Coast News.
“That cadetship saw me working in different rotations across the university, in anything from recruitment to commercial development and employment relations or governance.”
These young stars join the ranks of well-known UOW alumni, including famed scientist and television host, Dr Karl, as well as actor Julian McMahon.
Meet them all below:
Tamryn Bennett – Poet
In her first ever university poetry class, Wollongong local Tamryn Bennett was told she would never have a job in poetry. She took that as a challenge.
The trail-blazing young poet has gone on to make a name for herself in Australia and abroad as a poet and editor at Australian poetry organisation, the Red Room.
Ms Bennett said her relatively unusual upbringing as a hearing-impaired child raised in a nursery in Wollongong helped inform her future career as a writer and visual artist.
“I had a way of seeing the world different, partly in that isolation, not being surrounded by a lot of people, but have plants that were friends, that is what informed my world view,” she said.
“Growing up without that much language or the ability to hear what other people were saying, I really thought that all things that moved were able to talk, including plants, including clouds, including the sun – all those things would have their own language.
“As I got my hearing back, I started to understand maybe other people don’t quite see things the same way.
“I think that’s the role of a poet, to be able to reimagine what’s possible.”
Since graduating, Ms Bennett has published a book – phosphene – with a second forthcoming, and has also taken on an editor role at Líneas en tierra (Lines in land), a bilingual collection of Mexican poetry.
Through numerous projects, Ms Bennett has also engaged with her passion for conservation.
“Plants, weeds, and trees – that’s my number one passion,” MS Bennett said.
“I really thought before going to university that my life would be with plants and with trees, and then any ended up being with poetry. So I wanted to find a way to bring those two things back together.”
One such project was a project titled: Poem Forest.
Ms Bennett, along with other poets, helped thousands of poets across the country create a poem inspired by nature, with a tree planted in its honour at the Australian Botanical Gardens.
“That project grows from a number of different places, but really it was listening to young people,” she said.
“Their hopes to be able to do something in relation to climate change, and seeing a lot of inaction in that space when it comes to what they’re asking for.”
Next year, the group will begin our partnership with Wollongong City Council and assist in the creation of tiny forests across Wollongong.
“It’s a great way to loop back to this place, this beautiful place in the Illawarra. And, now being able to work with a number of poets that are also graduates of UOW hopefully young people that will be future graduates of UOW as well,” she said.
Patrick Lenton – Writer
For writer and journalist Patrick Lenton, there was no other option than UOW when he first approached a future in creative writing.
The now-editor at The Conversation said he was attracted to the practically-focused courses the school offered.
“What I was really drawn to was they’re quite unique focus on practical writing and practical creative writing, writing short stories and novels,” he said.
At first, Mr Lenton said he never had an interest in journalism, and was more focused on his passion for comedic short stories and essays.
“I did a lot of freelance journalism, which sort of started off mostly as me doing theatre reviews and comedy writing for various places, and then that kind of grew and grew until I started working full time as an arts and culture journalist,” he said.
Mr Lenton has since moved to Melbourne after graduating from UOW in 20(), and has made a name for himself as an award-winning young writer with a witty, comedic edge.
He is the author of the book of short stories titled A Man Made Entirely of Bats, a book of comedic essays called Uncle Hercules and Other Lies, and the full length short story collection, Sexy Tales of Paleontology.
His raft of awards the Thiel Grant for Online Writing, as well as being shortlisted for the Viva la Novella prize, The Novella Project, Scribe Nonfiction Prize, Qantas SOYA prize. He also won the Canadian Club Best Comedy Award at the Sydney Fringe, and tells stories on Twitter like ‘Skyrim Dog’ and ‘The Time I Faked My Own Death’. He was a member of a poetry boy band called The Bracket Creeps.
As for the comedic vein that runs through much of his work, Mr Lenton said it was a reflection of himself and his own personality above all else.
“I always see everything through an absurd lens, I think. And so, even when I was studying at university, we weren’t necessarily writing comedic sort of things, but I just found myself doing that,” he said.
“It’s what I like, what I enjoy writing.
“I write a lot of literary short stories, and there’s not a lot of comedic short stories being written in Australia. So it’s kind of nice to be writing something that’s a little bit different.”
Caitlin Vickers – Customer Expert
At the heart of good customer service is psychology, according to UOW graduate and high-flying manager in the alcohol business, Caitlin Vickers.
Closing out her studies in early-2020, when the country was bracing for its first round of lockdowns and then-unprecedented restrictions, Ms Vickers was still able to secure herself a position at one of the world’s largest alcohol distributors – Pernod Ricard.
“It was, I would argue, one of the most scariest times to ever be graduating, because it was right in the thick of the pandemic,” Ms Vickers said.
“I was really, really nervous, because I didn’t know what was going to be happening.
“When the role at Pernod Ricard came up, it really sparked an interest in me.”
Throughout her studies, Ms Vickers completed a managerial cadetship with the university.
“I did part time study and part time work at UOW because I was a management cadet at the university,” she said.
“That cadetship saw me working in different rotations across the university, in anything from recruitment to commercial development and employment relations or governance.”
Her job sees her travelling across the state and the country, meeting with alcohol distributors such as Dan Murphys and BWS, as well as independent retailers.
“I’m visiting stores out in the trades, speaking to customers, and really hearing from them first-hand what is working for them, what’s happening to them, what they’re interested in.
“We’re a customer centric company, so they really encourage us to be out and speak to as many customers as we can.”
The link between marketing and psychology is people, Ms Vickers said, understanding people, which she believes is at the heart of her role.
“It’s about understanding why people do what they do, why people act the way they act, choose what they choose,” she said.
“There’s a really great linkage between the two, and I’m always looking at consumer insights.
“That is fundamental to the marketing plans that I deliver.”
From an internal perspective, Ms Vickers said her role was a conduit between many different aspects of the business.
“So, it’s important that I am able to build those relationships and the more you understand people the greater emotional intelligence that you’re able to have or able to build,” she said.
“That is only going to help you with those relationships, not only internally but also externally as well because we work so closely with agencies in our role, and so closely with customers.”
Anthony ‘Walt’ Carrol - Scientist / Tik Tokker
Merging science with short, quippy online videos, medicinal chemist Dr Anthony Carrol is hoping to inspire future generations to pursue a career in STEM.
Dr Carrol said his time at UOW was foundational to his future success not just as a chemist, but as a quickly-rising Tik Tok sensation.
With more than 1.3 million followers and more than 22.9 million likes, the “oneminmicro” Tik Tok account run by Dr Carrol under his alias ‘Walt’ reveals the wonders of the microscopic world.
Through revealing close-ups on hairy spiders to finely-detail displays of dazzling diamonds, Dr Carrol hopes to spark the interest of the young students that frequent the popular app.
“I’ve found that trying to pass on just a little bit of knowledge or just teach something has been the vibe or the theme of each video since I started the account a year ago,” he said.
“They’ve turned into almost bite-sized documentaries, in a way.
“If someone can walk away with a little bit of extra knowledge just from watching that 30 to 40 second clip, then that’s my job done.”
Dr Carrol said he’s always had a passion for microscopic, and for video creation. So, he decided to merge the two.
“Ever since I can remember I’ve always liked bugs and the degree just helped hone that passion, and that desire for an interest in science.
“When Tik Tok came along, it was just perfect. They had all their own in-house software to compile the videos together.
“Everything that you see on the Tik Tok has been done on a single mobile phone.”
Dr Carrol believes he has been to “push the limits” on the channel, such as filming chemical reactions under the microscope as well which he said he had amazing to be able to do.
As the channel continues to gain steam, he hopes to also inspire other scientists in separate fields to take to the widely-used app to share their specialities.
“There are professors on Tik Tok who are using it to give university-level education. This is stuff that you would put yourself in a $60,000 HECS debt for, and these people are just putting it out there for free.
“I see more science channels popping up. It’s absolutely fantastic.”
Other notable names
Meet some other well-known UOW graduates who have already made their mark on Australia and the world here:
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki – Scientist
A staple of many young Australian’s childhoods, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki arrived in Wollongong after his parents, having fled the Holocaust for Sweden, settled in Australia.
In interviews, Dr Karl recalled the difficulties he had growing up in Wollongong as the son of Polish Jews, seeking refuge from school bullies in the city’s library.
It was there that he discovered his passion for science fiction.
Dr Karl went on to study a Bachelor of Science at UOW, the first in many scientific qualifications the Doctor acquired from the most prestigious schools from across the country.
For many, Dr Karl is most recognisable as the face of many science-orientated programs, teaching the machinations of the world to both children and adults.
In 2019, Dr Karl was awarded the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for science communication.
Jihad Dib - Politician
Lakemba Labor MP Jihad Dib made waves in the early 2010s as the first Muslim representative for the largely-Islamic city seat.
Born in then war torn Lebanon, Mr Dib emigrated with his parents to Australia in 1975.
Studying at UOW, Mr Dib went on to teach at the south coast Ulladulla High School where he met his wife, then a Japanese teacher.
He later became principal at Punchbowl Boys High at the age of 33, before transiting into politics with his election to the NSW Legislative Assembly in 2015.
Julian McMahon - Actor
Australian-American actor and son of former Prime Minister, Sir William McMahon, Julian McMahon studied economics at UOW before becoming an actor.
Finding little interest in academic studies, Mr McMahon instead took up modelling, working in such places as Milan and Paris before returning to Australia to star in Home and Away.
Mr McMahon is most widely known for his roles in popular film and television series, including Nip/Tuck and the Fantastic Four.
Jamie Peacock - Sportsman
Before blazing a trail in English Rugby League, Leeds-born footballer Jamie Peacock briefly studied at UOW while honing his skills.
But, Australian life didn’t take to the Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls player.
Talking to New Zealand news website Stuff, Mr Peacock said surviving on two minute noodles and sleeping on a mate’s floor had an effect.
The fraught trip nonetheless proved to be young Peacock’s launching pad toward success after his time spent with Australian-born coach Matthew Elliott.
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