Wai's story

When I published my first children’s book in 2012, I thought I was destined for the creative author life. But after two months of being a ‘full-time writer’, my husband sent me back to work; ‘You’re not your best self,’ he observed. It was true. I was missing the part of my brain that loved problem-solving, untangling puzzles and coming up with innovative and helpful solutions.

I spent five years job hopping as a digital consultant and freelancer, trying to balance my creative endeavours with a traditional 9 to 5 role. It was challenging, to say the least, as the career paths and learning opportunities offered to me were quite linear and demanded that I compromise on my creative pursuits; I felt I had to fit into some mould. Then I landed the role of Digital Producer at Starlight Children’s Foundation.

As a children’s writer, I immediately connected with Starlight’s mission to bring happiness to seriously ill children and their families and I was delightfully drawn to the amazing energy and buzzing excitement of the Starlight Team. This was a place that celebrated creativity and embraced the pursuit of personal passions; you see this in the captivating performances of the Starlight Captains and the extra sparkles and special care that is taken to grant every single Starlight Wish. My creative spirit felt right at home.

In my six years and counting here at Starlight, what surprised me the most was how easily I could adapt my role while I explored and developed my professional interests. As a natural tech geek and nerd, I became more involved with our technology and systems and was able to move from the Marketing team to the Business Applications Team (BAT) while staying across the projects that I cared about (eg the Starlight website!) I’ve learned so much from being a part of BAT Team and my curiosity and problem-solving nature have helped me excel and grow in my role. I’ve learned so much about Innovation, Positive Psychology and Wellbeing from our training courses and as well as our workplace culture.

The entire Starlight Team have been so amazingly supportive of my ‘out of work’ interests, from attending my book launches to cheering me on while I did a brief stint on Australian Survivor.

I’ve had amazing people managers who have been deeply empathetic and so genuinely caring and embracing of my personal interests as well as my professional development. Starlight is a place where I’m learning and growing as a whole human being – and having some fun along the way. There’s no question that I’m bringing my best and whole self to my role every day.