Kelly landed her first job while she was at school as a cashier at Ocean Master Seafood.

She would take orders for fish and chips, answer the phone, and did the occasional cleaning.

“I loved working with my friends from school and getting enough money each week to buy a new CD,” she said.

“I hated having to catch the train to work though. I lived around 20 minutes away.”

“Although it doesn’t directly relate to where I am now, it taught me how to be resilient, how to work as a team, and that I did not wish to be a cashier for the rest of my life.”

“I then went on to study event management after school and quickly found a love for the not-for-profit-sector. 

Now Kelly is the community relations coordinator for the Southern Highlands and south west region Southern Highlands for Cancer Council NSW.

Her role is varied with most of her tasks being related to event management and stakeholder relationships. 

“The two events I work on most are Relay for Life and Stars of The Highlands.”

“On any given day I could be packing a truck ready to go to a relay, to recruiting dance teachers for a stars event.”

“I attend volunteer committee meetings regularly, and also often talk to the media about our events. The other day, I was on Highlands FM with John Sider, talking about the upcoming dancing event.”

“I am very lucky in my job as I am able to meet many different people in the communities that I work in. Although I do hear some sad stories, most of what I do is very uplifting and I know that my hard work is going to a good cause.”

Do you have an interesting ‘my first job’ story you would love to share?

Tell us about your first job by going to www.southernhighlandnews.com.au/communityforms/ and click send us your news.