Beyond the Fig Tree

Old Lauristonian news from around the world

FILIA SMITH (ARISTIDOU, OL 2000)

Recently we connected with Filia Smith who has been living in London since 2008, with husband Rob and their two children Henry and Ava. While they’re based in London, Filia and Rob love exposing Henry and Ava to as much culture and diversity as possible with many trips abroad.

Filia was at Lauriston from Prep to Year 12, and has such fond memories of her years, saying that she owes so much of her personal and career achievements to the strong educational foundations and independence at Lauriston. After completing her International Baccalaureate (IB), she was initially enrolled in Engineering Commerce, however after much thought she decided to apply to a newly established course in radiography and medical imaging at Monash University. This was a pivotal point in her life and fortunately resulted in the best life choice! As a young girl she fondly recalls spending time involved in her father’s medical practice, so a pathway in a medical profession was always on the cards.

After completing a Masters in Ultrasound, researching the role of MRI in breast cancer, Filia took a career break and travelled Europe extensively for six months concluding in London, which she saw as a gateway to her travel aspirations. Her Australian ultrasound qualifications resulted in abundant job opportunities in the UK.

Her first job was at both Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital, working in obstetrics and gynaecology. She learned an incredible amount in a short period of time due to the sheer volume of patients and the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of London.

Eighteen months later, Filia was approached by Toshiba Medical Imaging Systems for a role as a Clinical Applications Specialist in Ultrasound. This included demonstrating, supporting and educating the latest medical imaging technologies to sonographers and consultants, combining her love of ultrasound and extensive travel.

Soon after, she moved into a research and development role at the European headquarters in Holland, developing, and successfully launching new equipment and technologies. A highlight was rolling out a full medical imaging suite (MRI, CT, X-ray and ultrasound) to Manchester United Football Club, where her team was able to carry out musculoskeletal imaging research (Filia’s area of expertise) using the latest technologies.

Following the birth of Ava in 2019, Filia has prioritised her parenting and family commitments, and acknowledges that lockdowns and home-schooling while looking after a baby was challenging. With Ava starting school in London in September, Filia is excited to also return to a clinical role specialising in musculoskeletal imaging.

We hope this year brings wonderful positivity to Filia and her family, and we look forward to 2027 when Filia hopes Ava will start at Lauriston and become a second generation Lauristonian!

REBECCA GEER (DAVIDSON, OL 1994)

After graduating from Lauriston in 1994, Rebecca set her sights on a career in media and journalism. Ending up in the world of marketing, she worked for a variety of fastpaced brands like Cadbury, Schweppes, Disney and Coles, until she realised something was missing. Having a keen interest in complementary medicine, and experiencing her own fertility issues, she completed a Bachelor of Health Science, and is currently completing her Masters in Acupuncture at RMIT.

In 2018 she opened her own clinic, Three Tides Natural Health, and brings together a team of experts in natural health. As the principle Naturopath, she is passionate about women’s health, with a special interest in perimenopause and hormone dysfunction. Rebecca has seen a huge increase in women actively seeking help in this area of complementary medicine – Three Tides Natural Health provides a caring and holistic health environment for women to build knowledge and navigate better health outcomes.

SABRINA TING (OL 2017)

We recently heard from Sabrina Ting from the Class of 2017. Sabrina was awarded the Principal’s Leadership Grant from when she was at Howqua in 2014 and she wanted to report on where this has led her.

After Sabrina left Lauriston, she was appointed as an Officer to the Royal Australian Navy in 2019 and graduated from the Royal Australian Naval College at HMAS Creswell later that year. In 2020, she posted to the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, completing tri-service military and officer training alongside undergraduate university studies provided by UNSW. In 2021 Sabrina was selected to be the Squadron Cadet Captain of Echo Squadron (one of six squadrons at the Academy) for 2022. A demanding leadership opportunity, in this role she was responsible for leading almost 200 of her fellow trainee officers in a military training environment.

At the end of 2022, Sabrina graduated from the Australian Defence Force Academy, awarded with Distinguished Graduate status, as well as receiving a Bachelor of Arts in International Political Studies and History (with Distinction) from UNSW Canberra. At the graduation parade, Sabrina was awarded the Chief of Navy Award by the Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, AM, RAN, for the best performance by a Third Year Midshipman in the fields of academic and military achievement, leadership, personal example, and service ethos during her time at the Academy. She thoroughly enjoyed her university studies and at the end of 2022, applied through the Navy to complete an Honours year in International Political Studies, which she was granted. Sabrina is now a Naval Honours student at UNSW Canberra, progressing a thesis in non-conventional warfare in the Indo-Pacific for the remainder of 2023. In 2024, Sabrina will progress to a new posting location to complete her initial employment training.

The Navy has provided Sabrina with some great experiences, including visiting Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore while on duty, and has also allowed her to continue her sporting pursuits, especially in snowsports and AFL. She was also chosen to be the

Navy representative featured on the newly released ADFA promotion and recruiting advertisements.

Sabrina believes that her time at Lauriston has prepared her for the Navy so far. A large factor of this is the education she received at Lauriston, which she believes gave her an advantage at university, but also in terms of the leadership opportunities and training provided both at Howqua and Armadale campuses. Whenever she has told any of her colleagues about the Howqua experience, they say ‘Oh wow, you must find all this (military) stuff really easy then!’ But Sabrina also says that as a woman in the Australian Defence Force, she finds the School’s Women in Leadership seminars and Leadership Conferences that she participated in throughout 2015-2017 are still guiding her today.