How has Korowa shaped and influenced its alumni beyond the gates of the School?  How do we provide agency for student voice as our students increasingly seek a platform to positively influence or advocate for change? How do we form connections between alumni and students in an ever-changing world? How do we build those vital communication skills to equip our students for life beyond school?

To answer this, Korowa is delighted to announce the launch of a new podcast; Beyond the Gates. A student led initiative; where each episode provides a unique insight into our alumni as they discuss what they’ve been up to since leaving the Korowa gates.

Hosted and produced by students, the podcast provides a unique opportunity for them to develop their skills in a real-world setting. Not only providing student voice, but also empowering students to have a leading role in developing and producing as many elements of the podcast process as possible. Creating podcast series music, developing the script, interview questions and conducting the interview, as well as learning about the style of podcasting, are all crucial associated communication skills that build confidence. The intention is also to develop the suite of skills to include sound engineering and editing capabilities. “Working as a host on the podcast has really expanded my communication skills, especially my ability to connect and engage with others,” says Snigdha, Year 11. Gabriella, Year 11 agrees, “my public speaking has truly improved, especially as a podcast host!”

“I’ve enjoyed learning the behind the scenes skills, such as presentation, media and communication, research, and technical knowledge skills, which is core in creating a podcast. In understanding how the podcast is operated, I can put these skills into future projects and gain experience and knowledge for my desired field of journalism,” says Phoebe, Year 10.

The podcast series will also provide vital leadership opportunities as our initial student podcasters will work and mentor future aspiring podcasters in the School.

“Behind the scenes, my collaboration skills have developed, as it takes a lot of quick teamwork before and after recording to make our questions and answers flow and work in synergy. Hearing the experiences of Korovians has taught me more about how pathways out of school can look, my biggest takeaway being that most career pathways will not be linear, and that there are plenty of opportunities to pursue individual interests, even becoming a spy!” Snigdha, Year 11.

Building connections between students and alumni, affectionally known as Korovians, the series of interviews showcases the diversity of careers and passions in the Korowa community. Our students chat with various trail blazers from entrepreneurs and magazine editors to an Olympian and a Korovian who worked on the Gaza Strip.

For our first episode, Phoebe, Snigdha and Gabriella sat down with Caitlin Judd and Anna McKenzie (Class of 2006) co-founders of Lady-Brains, a media and education platform that helps women around the world turn business ideas into action. Caitlin and Anna reminisce on their days as Korowa students and explain how their not-so-linear trajectories landed them where they are today.

Beyond the Gates will launch on Thursday 7 October. Listen to our first episode on Whooshka or Apple.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to be notified of each episode!