UTS Young Alumni present: Non-linear paths to success
Description
If you’re in your 20s or 30s and feeling like your career path looks different from those around you, you’re not alone.
At Non-Linear Paths to Success, hear from successful UTS graduates as they share the real decisions, challenges and pivots that have shaped their professional journeys.
If you’re worried about what the future of work looks like, this event will offer insights into how to stay adaptable and future-proof your career in a complex world.
Learn from Australia’s most famous hip-hop journalist; a teacher turned Facilities manager at the Sydney Opera House; startup mentor-slash-cat café founder; and the TikTok star behind Chebbo’s Burgers.
From detours & confidence dips, to redefining success & backing yourself, get practical advice on building a thriving career!
This interactive session includes plenty of time for Q&A, so come ready to ask questions – and hear honest advice! Afterwards, join for FREE networking over drinks and canapes.
Agenda
- 6:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Doors open
- 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Presentation and Q&A
- 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Complimentary networking at The Loft
Panelists
Ali Chebbani (UTS Bachelor of Business in Accounting)
Ali graduated from UTS in 2020 with a Bachelor of Accounting on the Co-op Scholarship, which got him working inside real businesses while he studied. That same year he started Chebbo's Burgers out of his driveway during the first COVID lockdowns. It's since grown into two shops, in Bexley and Marrickville, with its own systems, recipes and identity. The accounting background is a big part of how he runs it - he pays as much attention to property, leases and margins as he does to the food. His focus now is on people: building up managers who can run a venue without him in the room, which is what makes growing past two sites possible.
Simone Amelia Jordan (UTS Bachelor of Communication in Journalism)
Simone Amelia Jordan is a Gadigal-based writer, essayist, and author, recognised as Australia’s most successful hip-hop journalist. Working at the intersection of culture, identity, and social justice, she has dedicated her career to amplifying underrepresented voices and mentoring emerging multicultural talent through organisations such as Media Diversity Australia, Diversity Arts Australia, and her initiative, The Dream Collective. Her debut memoir, Tell Her She’s Dreamin’, won the 2021 Richell Prize.
Changsoo Yu (Master of Teaching in Secondary Education)
Changsoo graduated UTS with a Master of Education. After a few years of teaching, he started doing Personal Training during Covid. From there, he moved into doing management roles in maintenance work. He currently works for APAC Structural Restorations – where their most mentionable client is the Sydney Opera House doing the building fabrics contract.
Thomas Derricot-Yap (UTS Bachelor of Communication in Writing & Cultural Studies and International Studies)
Thomas Derricott-Yap is a startup coach, TEDx speaker, former entrepreneur, and co-author of the Amazon bestseller, Riding the Unicorn: The Startup Guide You'll Want to Read. Before writing Riding the Unicorn, Thomas co-founded Catmosphere Sydney – NSW's first dedicated cat café – which he sold in 2018. He also worked as an early employee at two leading Australian startups. While Thomas' career to date might scream ‘Quirky Business Grad’, he actually studied a Bachelor of Writing & Cultural Studies/Bachelor of International Studies. After graduating in 2010, Thomas started writing for an industry magazine during the dying days of print journalism. From there, he took an unplanned, often baffling route to become an author, startup mentor, and one-time cat mogul.
Bella Liu (Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication, and Bachelor of Creative Intelligence & Innovation)
Bella has lived a portfolio of careers, from designer by trade to big advertising professional, startup builder, property investor, wellness studio owner, and now recruiter and angel investor. As a UTS Alumni Committee member, she is proud to moderate this panel of talented UTS alumna and discover all about the twists and turns, ups and downs in their career paths, tips and advice for future UTS alumni, and all the divine timing and coincidences along the way.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity