Alumni Council President Jane Wayland (BSc, 1994) says she is keen to take a hands-on approach to the role, so she can ensure her work directly benefits the University’s alumni community.
“It’s important to not just have a role where you’re sitting on a body, but to actually engage in day-to-day connection with students and alumni,” Jane said.
“That’s why I do think participating in opportunities such as mentoring, or immersing yourself in what's going on, is essential to being an impactful contributor to the Alumni Council.”
This is Jane’s third term on the Alumni Council and she was recently elected as President, a role she is undertaking through to April 2025. She says her priority as President is raising awareness of the Council’s work among the alumni it represents.
“We are all volunteers who are keen to stay connected with what the university does, and support students through their journey and then as they enter the workforce,” she said.
“I think it’s really important to show alumni what we do, and how to contribute, for people who are interested.”
Connecting after graduation
The Alumni Council advises the University on many things, from how to improve the student experience to developing opportunities for alumni to connect with students, faculty and each other. It’s made up of 18 members, including two non-voting University representatives.
There are six elected alumni on the Council, representing the University’s six different faculty groups.
Jane says another priority for her work on the Council is embedding how it works with the University’s Alumni Associations, which are found in countries across the world and regularly run networking and other events.
“We’d like to increase our connections, with the intention of reaching a breadth of alumni across age groups,” she said.
“At the moment, we see great engagement with younger alumni, but those connections can drop away as alumni move further into their careers. So, for those who do want to connect with fellow alumni, we’d love to improve the quality of those connections by building in a coaching and peer support network.”
Jane is also passionate about finding ways to help students identify the breadth of career pathways available to them. She studied a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne, but said she was unsure about her career when she graduated in 1994, because she didn’t necessarily want to pursue further scientific studies and a research career.
Instead, she spent some time travelling, living and studying in France and continuing her part time job in a bookshop from her university days.
That experience in turn led her into the publishing industry, where she trained as an editor before working in a small management consulting business. She later joined KPMG, where she now works as a Director.
“I didn’t realise it at the time, but my science degree set me up well for my career. Science taught me some great skills in critical thinking, in breaking down problems and figuring out ‘where to from here’,” she said.
“That’s the reason why I’m so passionate about getting involved with our students now. I want to help them understand what’s out there in the world, beyond a more traditional science path.”
As well as mentoring students, alumni are also participating in alumni-to-alumni mentoring, meaning there are opportunities for graduates to be mentees and not just mentors.
“The alumni community is something that everybody can tap into, and I think that’s important. There are so many opportunities to get career advice or learn from others’ experiences.”
Shaping a strong future
A major highlight of her time on the Council was contributing to Advancing Melbourne – the University’s strategic direction for advancing education and research until 2030.
“In the initial stages of its development, we provided input to the Vice Chancellor as he set the direction for the next decade,” shared Jane.
“This involvement also informed our ability to support the implementation of the strategy – specifically its goals to provide an outstanding education and experience to students, and to foster a vibrant University community that is a destination of choice.”
She is keen to support the newer Council members to develop in their roles and enable them to contribute strongly on the Council. But she says she also finds it personally fulfilling to be so deeply engaged in the University community.
“It brings us all out of our day jobs and enables us to pique our curiosity. In a couple of weeks, I’ll be hosting a leadership skills webinar where alumni mentors will preview a MicroCert that the University offers,” said Jane.
“It will be a great way to tap into the wealth of knowledge available to alumni at the University while learning new skills as leaders and mentors.”