Fast Five: Quick-fire insights from an Ask Alumni superstar

Among the many accolades Joshua Marks has, here’s another he can add to the list: UOM’s most active mentor for two years running. Joshua has scheduled over 50 meetings with mentees since he joined the University’s volunteer program in 2023. So what drives this alum to pay it forward?

Headshot of Joshua Marks, Ask Alumni participant
Joshua Marks, Ask Alumni participant

"I'm one of those people who are quite fortunate to have some influential figures in my life, particularly in the academia space," Joshua reflects. "I saw how much change they can affect in your path – particularly when you don't know what you don't know, right?"

Joshua majored in pathology before setting out on a successful and rewarding career in the pharmaceutical industry. He now dedicates his spare time chatting with up-and-coming professionals through the Ask Alumni platform.

The program connects alumni, as well as students, to alumni mentors and facilitates short, one-off conversations. These connections foster brief yet impactful exchanges that cover a wide range of professional development topics, from career guidance to industry insights. Often, it’s well-timed word of encouragement or a piece of hard-earned wisdom that can illuminate a mentee's path forward.

A favourite moment

One of Joshua's favourite mentoring moments was helping a PhD student navigate their final year of study. "Fast forward maybe a bit over two years, he's actually doing the same role or similar to me now!" Joshua says. "It really gives me a lot of pride to see that."

One of the strengths of the program is the breadth of the University’s alumni network, spanning all disciplines and areas of study. As Joshua points out, "There's just so many diverse experiences that you can tap into. From science and technology to literature in the arts to media studies. There's really no limit on who you can meet and who you can connect with."

Many benefits of asking other alumni

And mentoring isn't just about giving. Joshua is keen to emphasise that the mentor/mentee relationship is a two-way street. "I think it's important to keep me current as an industry professional. It's important to know what the next generation is thinking, particularly Gen Z, who make up the majority of the meetings that I do."

As the demand for mentorship continues to grow, the Ask Alumni program is constantly seeking new volunteers to join its ranks. Joshua's approach embodies the program's spirit of continuous learning and curiosity. “One bit of advice I always tell my mentees towards the end of meetings is, don't stop at me! Make sure that you use the platform, have a look to see what other sort of professionals you'd like to connect with, and go for it. Talk to as many people as you can.”

Ready to make a difference in someone’s career journey? Find out more about Ask Alumni here.

Joshua's fast five

    • Be open minded – no two experiences will be alike; the student experience is exceptionally diverse. Leave your biases at the door.
    • Listening skills – this may sound counter intuitive for a mentor, but I think that to be able to communicate your experiences effectively to someone looking navigate professional life, listening out for what a mentee is really seeking is vital.
    • Adaptability – I like to think that tailoring your approach to the individual is a much more effective way to manage a mentor/mentee relationship.
    • Providing feedback - the best mentors connect regularly with their mentees and importantly, talk about the outcomes of their activities.
    • Approach the partnership with confidence – in addition to time commitments, one of the major hurdles for prospective mentors is lack of self-confidence. Too often professionals doubt themselves and think that they perhaps cannot offer value to a mentee, but this is rarely (if ever) true. There is always a unique perspective and information sharing that can benefit all partnerships.

    • Traditional written exams (sciences) – applying principles of Bloom’s taxonomy, the ability for a person to remember pieces of information is not necessarily an accurate measure of their understanding of a particular subject matter. Exams/exam periods were also one of the most stressful experiences, I remember having nightmares about arriving late to exams even many years after finishing university.
    • The limited exposure to practical real-world applications of knowledge, I agree that theoretical aspects of a field of study is important foundationally, but real-world applications of information is the true way to move a field forward.
    • Physical textbooks – don’t get me wrong, sometimes physical pages are much more enjoyable to read vs. staring at a screen for hours but many of those textbooks (some which I still have) weighed kilograms. Also having the ‘Ctrl+F’ function is an absolute necessity (and co-pilot is super handy for searching the unsearchable documents!)
    • The 6-hr Friday labs – contradictory to my previous point, but sometimes too much practical experience at once can be overloading.
    • Lecturers using analog overhead projectors – I still remember when lectures featured traditional optical overhead projectors (I am looking at you organic chem) – if you happened to miss a class you would get the audio recording but have no idea what was being drawn or what was referred to. Very glad to also have seen the first digital systems included – a win for remote learning!

    • Lead the registration of a novel, first in class therapy for cancer in Australia (currently working on a couple of different programs in the clinic so we will see)
    • Work overseas in China, Europe, U.S in clinical development
    • Maybe one day run my own Biotech startup (however masochistic that may sound).

    • Bob Duggan – former CEO of Pharmacyclics, I read a book recently called “For Blood and Money” by Nathan Vardi, is account of the events leading up to, and after the development of ibrutinib (and indeed the class of BTK inhibitors) for blood cancers. Bob Duggan features heavily in the book.
    • Mo Gawdat – former Chief Business Officer of GoogleX, I have listened to a few of Mo’s podcasts and read two of his books ‘Scary Smart’ and ‘Solve for happy’ – I think it is his outlook on life as a human, more than his professional background that is something I would learn from.

    • Say hello and introduce yourself to more people – particularly at University.
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