Skye's story

Before Starlight I was in the food, wine and tourism biz.

When I moved from Melbourne to Perth, I was keen to move into a different type of event management space, and I was also looking to connect to my purpose. I’ve always wanted to contribute positively to the lives of young people but wasn’t sure in what way yet.

I started working at Starlight which allowed me to use the skills I already have, doing something I dearly loved and also make a positive impact.

I was shining in a part-time events role and was soon offered a full-time role supporting events and philanthropy in Victoria. While in that role we identified opportunities to improve national consistencies and efficiencies for the Five Chefs Dinners, so we developed a new National Events Coordinator role. From there that grew into the team we now know of as the National Events team, leading the Five Chefs and Star Ball events. I was a Five Chefs lead for a few years, and then moved into the role as manager.

After completing coaching with the Positivity Institute, through Starlight, I connected back to my purpose and realised I wanted to move from the Events space into more of a direct impact role. When the Livewire Online Program Manager role was advertised, I saw an even greater opportunity to tap into my “why” and transfer all the skills I’d built over the years. I’m so grateful to have been given all these opportunities over the years, and that I’ve been able to grow with Starlight.

In my role as Program Manager for Livewire Online, I love that I get to see first-hand the impact we make to people’s lives, and work with the most incredible team of fun, compassionate, creative, authentic people. There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t laugh out loud, feel extremely proud of the work my team does, and witness or share in a heart-warming moment. It’s truly cup-filling stuff.

I was asked to share one learning opportunity at Starlight I’ve recently found useful, and I couldn’t pick just one! I can’t go past anything we do with Paul Mitchell at The Human Enterprise, or with Dr Suzy Green at The Positivity Institute. Along with the team, they have hugely impacted my leadership style, and my personal and professional growth. The other is Innovation Training with Inventium – it’s completely changed the way I work, and has given me the skills to say farewell forever to perfectionist tendencies. I now focus on being adaptable, testing and trying new things, learning, and iterating along the way. I feel very lucky to have been given these opportunities.

If you’re considering applying for a job at Straight, I’d say run don’t walk! It’s possibly the best bunch of people you’ll ever work with, and you’ll have a lot of fun along the way.