Bonnie Borland – Class of 2007
Year 11 and 12 VET Business students and more than 40 others took the opportunity to hear BSSC alumna, Bonnie Borland, share the story of her time at BSSC—and what she has been doing since she left.
Bonnie’s career pathway is a fantastic example of how life can unfold incredibly well if you’re prepared to work hard and grab every opportunity that comes your way… although that’s not completely true for her time at school.
“The classroom was never my favourite place,” Bonnie admitted to students. “I was much more interested in the people who were around me—if I liked a teacher I would thrive in their class. If I didn’t, well, sometimes I would give them hell.
“BSSC was really great for me because I found some of that freedom I craved and it was a ‘clean slate’ and there’s nothing I love more than a fresh start.”
In fact it is Bonnie’s capacity for communication combined with an intense curiosity to solve challenges that underpins the success of her numerous roles across various industries.
“Listening is more important than talking,” she told students.
“Be true to yourself; trust your gut… the only times I’ve been disappointed in a role was when I took it on because I thought I should. Now I would only take on a position if I could really see myself in that role and am intensely excited about its possibilities.”
Bonnie has been running her own business, Social&, for the past four years; a successful marketing hub that connects companies with freelancers around Australia.
She jumped at the chance to revisit her old stomping ground and back to another cohort of students, sitting where she once sat, facing the possibilities and challenges that were once her own.
