We were delighted to welcome Sonny Udovicic to Francis Holland to talk about her tremendously successful career in law. As an Old Girl of the school, Sonny’s careers advice was pertinent, relevant and inspiring. Sonny’s law career has led her to live and work all around the world, most notably living in South East Asia for ten years. She is a partner at an international law firm and balances her career with having a family and small son. As well as talking us through the nature of her job, the type of work she does and the deals she works in, Sonny clearly delivered five key messages to our students. Sonny’s messages stemmed from things that she wished she had known before embarking on her own career, offering our girls incredibly helpful and practical guidance.

The first of Sonny’s messages was Be smart: make sure you have informed yourself about your chosen career path, work hard and value your education, gain as much experience as you can and find a career that's the right fit for you. In the second message, Be bold, Sonny encouraged girls to be ambitious and confident, to be assertive, to develop a thick skin, to seek out mentors and sponsors and to challenge yourselves. The third message, Be yourself, encouraged girls to be self-aware, play to your strengths and address any weaknesses you may have through practice and coaching, do something you enjoy, have fun and remember, it’s a marathon and not a sprint! The fourth message, Be engaged, focussed on developing key connections and networks, being a team player and recognising that communication is key at all levels. The fifth and final message was Take charge. Take charge of your career and yourself, take care of yourself, balance is all important and remember girls, you are in the driving seat! All in all, an inspirational, important career conversation and one to which we are grateful to and proud of a former FHS girl, Sonny Udovicic for delivering.

See more photos here