Graduates

SEDA students develop transferrable skills, which lead to a variety of exciting career options.

GRADUATE STORIES

Eray Saban – Events Manager, Marvel Stadium

“It’s not often I post about work, but It’s pretty incredible that I get to call this my job. At the age of 18, I managed my first ever event, a basketball tournament for 400 people in the outskirts of Melbourne. Fast forward 8 years, last night I was lucky enough to host over 55,000 people for U2 – The Joshua Tree Tour. So many months of planning which went into it all and multiple challenges along the way but an incredible night overall. This one is going in the pool room one day.” – Via LinkedIn, Eray.

Rachel Napolitano – Managing Director, Cutting Edge Cricket

After graduating from SEDA, Rachel and her family started up their own business, Cutting Edge Cricket, which involves the management of an indoor cricket training and coaching facility. Rachel is currently the Managing Director of Cutting Edge Cricket and she is also part of their coaching panel. This year Rachel enrolled in a Bachelor of Coaching at Victoria University to further her skills.

Chris McKay – Football Analyst & Analysis Academy Manager, St. Kilda FC

In his Diploma year, Chris was offered a work placement opportunity at St Kilda Football Club. This work placement led to him being offered a full-time job with the club as a Football Technology Assistant. After being in the role for six years, Chris was promoted to Football Analyst Manager, where he also oversees the club’s Analysis Academy – utilising and managing current SEDA students within for these roles.

Nikki Phillips – Teacher, SEDA College WA

Graduating from SEDA in 2011, Nikki went on to study a Bachelor of Health and Physical Education at Deakin University from 2012 - 2015. She received her first teaching appointment at Wesley College Melbourne, where she was given some fantastic opportunities to excel in a variety of environments. Upon making the decision to move to Perth, Nikki commenced her role as a SEDA teacher in the Netball WA Program in 2019. Nikki is passionate about the hands-on nature of the SEDA Program and helping to develop an individual pathway tailored to each student's strengths and ambitions.

Ben Abbatangalo — Deputy CEO, AIME

After graduating from SEDA in 2012, Ben had a series of jobs within the sporting industry including Community Programs Assistant at Cricket Australia and Communications Co-Ordinator at AIME. AIME is an educational program that supports Indigenous students through high school and into university or employment. Ben has risen to the rank of co-CEO with AIME at just twenty-three years old. He is passionate about advocating for Aboriginal people and wants to continue changing the face of the country.

Josh Kruse — Communications and Digital Producer, Scuderia Toro Rosso.

“I got thrown in the deep end when I came to SEDA which I loved. I took on more responsibilities and was able to maximise my own learning. At SEDA, you get out what you put in and I quickly recognised that this was my chance to show people what I had to offer and how valuable I was as an employee. It was a platform for me to showcase who I was as a person, separate from my resume. It gave me a really good work ethic, as well as great approach to life.” — Josh

Hear from our graduates

SEDA Graduates listed above have graduated from SEDA Group or with one of our partner providers.