Zoe Papatheohari
Class of 2015

After leaving Ivanhoe Girls’, I completed a Bachelor of Film and TV (Animation) at Swinburne University. Going into my course, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with my life or what I hoped to get out of it. But I had always wanted to study animation and figured that I might as well give it a go - I could always transfer! Luckily, it quickly became clear I was exactly where I wanted to be, and animation was the right path for me.

My interest in animation began when I was around four years old, but it wasn't until I was in secondary school that I considered it as a career path. So, I chose to do a VET Certificate in Interactive Digital Media as part of my VCE. The animation components of the Cert III gave me my first taste of the software I would later use in university to create animated shorts, and if it weren't for this introduction, I doubt I would have had the confidence to try animation at a tertiary level. (Shout out to Ms Leone and Ms Stalker for teaching my IDM classes and for believing in me!) 

During my time at Ivanhoe Girls', I didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted to do after school. So I tried to keep my options open – I took a wide range of subjects, got involved in all kinds of co-curricular activities, and volunteered for any roles that needed filling. I'm so glad I did! I never thought doing Specialist Maths in Year 12 would help me, but it gave me a thorough understanding of how 3D animation software works. 

Taking part in the School's music program gave me knowledge about sound production that I was able to use in the Audio Engineering parts of my course.If I could give one piece of advice to students who are unsure of what they want to do when they leave school, it would be to try any activities or subjects that interest them. You never know how trying something new could prove beneficial in the future, so you might as well have fun.