by Rachel Mckay
A big turn out of students and young professionals came to hear Olivia Leal-Walker speak at Warren and Mahoney’s Auckland office for the first ever Future Thinkers event on 19 July. Special mention to keen students, Georgia, Geraldine and Sandi who travelled from Christchurch and Wellington, to be here.
The opening mihi by Te Ari Prendergast set the tone for the night; excitement, but also apprehension for the future.
Mitch Catlon from Warren and Mahoney introduced the venue, the shining Green Star Mason Bros Building transformed from an industrial shell which he called “a glorified pigeon coup.” Prior to the renovation, the building was corroded, rusted, and clad with asbestos. The roof was caving in and there was no daylight inside. “The whole site was heavily contaminated,” Mitch said. After extensive remodeling, the building now showcases green features and stunning modern designs.
NZGBC Future Thinker Anna Lin elaborated on the theme of excitement and apprehension, by sharing the anxiety of job hunting fresh out of university and the valuable lessons she learned along the way. Her lively description of the struggles of student life and the near obsession with churning out CVs struck a chord with everyone. Despite warnings from her professors of the impossibility of landing a job in sustainability without experience, Anna started as an intern with NZGBC and worked her way to becoming a full-time employee. She was blindsided when she got a call from the Chief Executive of the Green Building Council saying, “thanks for the application, congratulations, you got the job.” Anna affirmed that it is possible to land a job in your field fresh out of university.
Olivia Leal Walker, Green Building Council of Australia’s Future Green Leader of 2017 then took the stage, sharing her own career story and how by changing her perspective she exposed herself to valuable opportunities. She inspired the audience by highlighting how important Future Thinkers are, or as she called them, “current thinkers.” Her simple, practical advice eased the minds of the up-and-coming professionals. “Try to find your passion early and use this as a guiding light when you’re selecting your opportunities,” she suggested. “It’s important to find a job that aligns with your vision and purpose.” The best way to do this, Olivia explained, is to start with what makes you angry and follow that.
In university, Olivia studied biology and earth sciences with dreams of working in national parks or agricultural services. When she found herself working in an office at Frasers Property Australia, she was initially discouraged, feeling that she wasn’t offering any value to the company. She suffered through two years before her perspective shifted. Looking back, she realized that her work at Frasers in fact did align with her vision and purpose, and that she could affect change without being the boots on the ground.
Olivia concluded her presentation by challenging the audience to work hard now, get an early start, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes because there’s nothing to lose. The effort of today will be repaid tenfold in the future, she assured.
Nick Carman from Mott MacDonald wrapped up the presentations, advising the students that “if opportunities come your way, don’t be afraid to say yes, even though it might be a bit scary.”
The night ended with a fun Q&A session, photoshoot, and plenty of drinks and snacks as attendees had the opportunity to network with each other and share what makes them angry.
Future Thinkers is about young people networking not only with each other, but also other professionals, and building a supportive community for students to share their accomplishments and struggles of emerging in the work force. As Anna commented, “It’s somewhere we can take learnings from one another; to remind ourselves we’re not in this alone.”
Thanks again to the generosity of Warren and Mahoney and Mott MacDonald and for making this evening possible.
If you missed out, you can watch the presentations and see photos here.
Want to get involved with NZGBC Future Thinkers? Find out more and see what’s coming up here.