On Monday 2 May, I had the pleasure of attending the Mother & Daughter Breakfast which brought together mothers from Prep to Year 12 and their daughters. It was lovely to connect with many mothers as we celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday, a time when I know we all want to express gratitude and love to our amazing mums.

During the Breakfast, our guest speaker was Georgia Beattie who graduated in 2004 from St Catherine’s, attending from Year 2 to Year 12. Georgia has forged a career around entrepreneurial endeavours which was a key theme of her presentation. Post-school, she studied at RMIT and had the opportunity to travel to the United States and study a course in entrepreneurship at Babson College in Boston. She has had 15 years’ experience as an entrepreneur and has taken every opportunity to learn, diversify and adopt a bold mindset in her career. There is little doubt that Georgia embodies a bold, resilient, independent, and creative mindset.

Her message to the students was an important one; she learnt differently during her schooling, and she pointed out that what might be a “perceived weakness at school, will be your greatest strength when you leave school,” it will be your superpower.

Her interest in contributing to organic, clean food that is tech-driven and sustainable has led her to become CEO and a shareholder of Bulla Park, Australia’s largest organic mushroom farm. Georgia runs the farm like a tech company where she wants “agriculture to replicate nature.” Georgia’s entrepreneurial skills have led to a highly successful business where she offers an undergraduate program and childcare on-site for her 80 employees. She has partnered with Hyundai and is embracing robotic farming.

As she states, “as an entrepreneur you can choose your own adventure” and as a CEO you have to “think differently,” and “problem solve.”

Her final message was encouraging students to “be brave and challenge” themselves in their studies, passions, and careers. Her speech resonated with both students and mothers. It was a joy to listen to Georgia speak about her journey, from her studies at St Catherine’s to being a successful entrepreneur and CEO.

Her message is an important one for all students to remember – that any challenges you may have in your learning, could very well be your superpower.

Finally, happy Mother’s Day to all the supermums this Sunday!