Page 23 - Luce 2020

A l umni News

Alexandra befriending some folk at the Advanced teams. We decided as a family that
Mathew (2006) Mountaineering Academy of Scotland. Microsoft was the right choice, and
In recent years, It started out as something with which I joined the fledgling search team in
my life has been to challenge myself apart from my Redmond, Washington in 2004.
full and busy, and healthcare career, but it became my life.
brimming with I’ve really enjoyed my position as Head I started the image, video, and news
music and travel. Instructor for the last three years. search teams, and ended up leading
I spent a year in a team of around 300 engineers that
London, where I welcome any members of the College, worked across Head Office, San
I studied at the past or present, to visit me in Scotland. Francisco, and Beijing. Our search engine
Royal College of Music, and toured China I have a big black friendly sausage dog became Bing in 2009. I was lucky to
with the Australian International Opera and he is always looking for a new lap to work closely with the current CEO and
Company, singing in Mozart’s Magic sleep on! occasionally with Bill Gates. Along
Flute. the way, I filed more than 50 patents,
including a few inventions that are in
As I write this, there is still a lot on my common use today.
agenda before 2019 draws to a close: I’m
travelling to Sydney for a performance I moved to eBay to lead about half their
of Handel’s Messiah in Paramatta, technology team in 2009, which meant a
to Wangaratta for a performance of move to northern California and Silicon
Fauré’s Messe Basse, and appearing as a Valley. Working at eBay was a different
guest in Chime Choir’s Christmas concert experience: a company turnaround and
in Melbourne. Other performance a new set of leadership challenges. After
highlights for the year include Jason on the summit of Ben Nevis nearly five years at eBay, I spent the next
premiering Hugh Crosthwaite’s song two years at Pivotal and Tinder, and
cycle Metamorphoses at the Melbourne Andrew Freeman (1980) is a Fellow of then joined Google to run Google Maps.
Recital Centre and singing in Distant the Australian Computer Society. He Google Maps was based in seven offices,
Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy at was at JCH while studying for his and so the role involved not only working
Melbourne Arena. Master of Education. In 2018, Andrew to create the next leap forward for an
was elected an Honorary Life member incredibly successful product, but also
Earlier in the year, I graduated with of the Australian Computer Society travelling the globe non-stop. Fortunately,
a Master of Music in Musicology at for his outstanding contribution at one of the stops was Australia.
the University of Melbourne, and I local, national and international levels,
try to keep up with my music writing including as Director of the Community We moved back to Australia in 2017 for
when time permits! To get me through Affairs Board from 1996 to 2000. the usual reasons: being closer to family,
my postgraduate studies, I worked at and giving our kids the chance to study in
Readings in Carlton, and it has been Hugh Williams Australia and be Australian. I left Google
lovely to be part of such a bookish and (1988) I studied later that year, and I’ve found myself doing
well-read community. computer a dozen things. Selina and I founded a
science at RMIT charity venture, ‘CS in Schools’, which
Aside from performing, writing, and University from is based at RMIT and helps Australian
bookselling, I’ve just taken up a job as 1988 to 1990, teachers learn how to teach students to
a singing teacher, and in 2020 will take and lived at code. I’ve taken a part time appointment
up a second singing teaching position Janet Clarke Hall as a Professor at the University of
at a school in Coburg. For the first throughout. Melbourne, and mostly teach in the
time in my life, I’m living in the west of MBA program at the Melbourne Business
Melbourne, and enjoying all that the After JCH, I built a tech startup in School. I’ve also joined the board of State
area has to offer. I keep up my Janet Melbourne. In 1994, I went back to Library Victoria. I spend around half my
Clarke Hall connections, and frequently RMIT and completed a PhD. On the time on tech advisory and investing, and
catch up with College friends. With any side, I continued consulting and also that gives me plenty of opportunities to
luck, the future will include more of the played drums in Melbourne indie band, stay in touch with people all over the
same – travelling, performing, writing and ‘Snout’. I eventually became RMIT’s world and work with smart founders.
teaching! Associate Professor in Information
Retrieval. Along the way, I got married I stopped by JCH recently on the Open
Jason Qin (2007) During my post-JCH to Selina (whom I met in 1990), had Day. It hasn’t changed too much. I’m
years, I worked briefly with a consulting two daughters Lucy and Rosie, taught, blessed to have met my best friends
practice (Right Lane Consulting) and published research, wrote a book that at JCH so I am especially thankful for
I was involved in several healthcare- sold 100,000 copies, supervised PhD College life. A few of us local alumni
related and pro-bono projects. These students, and received grant funding. get together most months for breakfast.
experiences inspired me to challenge Others I catch up with less frequently
myself and become a doctor. By 2003, I wanted to get back into - one good friend recently visited from
industry. I began conversations with overseas. We always marvel at how far
In-between my shift work, I decided to Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! about and wide the impact of JCH alumni
pursue my interest in nature. I ended up roles in their US-based search engine has been.

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