We chat with Orientation Program Manager Cassie Khamis about childbirth, serial killers and everything in between.

1. In a nutshell, my job is to…
Help students get the best start possible at Macquarie. I manage some of the University-wide programs and events that you might have heard of – Orientation Week (O Week) and the Macquarie University Mentors program. I also regularly get the opportunity to work on other great student experience projects in the DVC-A portfolio. In the past six months I’ve contributed to the Exams activation (and Library opening 24/7), Student Essentials 2020 Diary, Wellbeing app launch and piloting some webinar/online events for our community.

2. My definition of success is…
Making a positive difference at the end of each day. This could be something as simple as helping a colleague or some lost students, or something huge like having thousands of students attend campus for O Week or teaching my kids to master life (my son is toilet training and very excited to show everyone his undies this week).

3. A person at Macquarie who inspires me is…
Professor Leonie Tickle – now Interim Executive Dean of the Macquarie Business School. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Leonie for several years on various projects (orientation, mentoring, Patyegarang, etc) and she is so collaborative and supportive of her team, and authentic at all times, which is inspiring to see in leadership. She has quite a big responsibility and a huge team but is always across everything that is happening at Macquarie and is ready to connect you with the right people.

4. This year I want to…
Study some more. My undergraduate degree was in Psychology, which I would love to continue for post-grad (particularly at Macquarie, which has amazing programs in this area). I was first in my family to get a degree and now my brother and husband are studying here, bragging about how they’re considering post-grad when they haven’t even finished their first degrees yet…I need to beat them.

5. The scariest thing I’ve ever done is…
Give birth. Honestly, there is no amount of pre-natal classes/videos/reading that can prepare you. My one piece of advice is, try to have a plan A through to Z and prep your support people to advocate for you. The pain will hit, and all reason will go out the window very fast.

6. As a kid, I was…
Always described as conscientious by my teachers. I recently found some old report cards and each teacher said the exact same thing for almost my whole primary school and most of high school.

7. My guilty pleasure is…
Serial killers. I find them so fascinating and love documentaries, books, television shows – anything about them! I’ve bonded with some colleagues over this shared love and trust me, you wouldn’t be able to tell who we are.

8. The most important thing I’ve learned in the last five years is…
Know your worth and make choices that are right for you. I think as females, we have to make lots of very difficult decisions when it comes to life and careers but at the end of the day, you have to answer to yourself and your loved ones, not judgmental people. I have always worked with young people and hope to enable/inspire them to be savvy about the choice of workplace, making sure their company aligns with their personal values. You’re at work for a third of your life, so if you don’t love what you do, this is a lot of wasted time.

9. If I had the day off today, you would find me…
Probably at home playing LEGO, baking cookies or ‘sticky road’ (what my kids call rocky road) and watching Bluey.

10. To me, the best thing about the Macquarie community is…
The people. I have had the chance to work with some amazing academics, professional staff, student casuals/volunteers and everything in between. The people will always be what makes this place great.