Nadia Bush
Job on station/ship: Watercraft Bargy and LARKY
What bought you to Antarctica: Living life as an adventure, feeling alive
Career Highlights: Being brave enough to move away from jobs that didn’t bring me joy, and instead seek jobs that do.
Something you don’t have listed on your resume: I love playing Roller Derby and street roller skating.
Jaimie Cleeland (cleverly disguised Dr, PhD in Marine Science)
Job on station/ship: Watercraft Operator
What bought you to Antarctica: Seabirds and a sense of adventure.
Career Highlights: Orca encounters while boating around the Rookery Islands, west of Mawson Station.
Something you don’t have listed on your resume: I’ve co-authored a couple of cookbooks for remote island living.
Danielle McCarthy
Job on station/ship: At Mawson Station I will be Senior Observer for the Bureau of Meteorology.
What bought you to Antarctica: A lifelong love of Antarctica and a lifelong love of weather!
Career Highlights: This current job is a definite highlight, as was 2018, when I spent a year at Macquarie Island as a weather observer. As well as working for the Bureau of Meteorology I have had a long maritime career, working as Master or Mate on a broad range of ships around the world.
Something you don’t have listed on your resume: Karaoke Queen (this title is strongly contested by all those who have ever heard me try to sing!!)
Gemma Woldendorp
Job on station/ship: Senior Field Training Officer
What brought you to Antarctica: This job has been a dream for a while. All my previous jobs have been like stepping stones to this.
Career highlights: Working in beautiful nature - in the bush, the snow, on cliffs and mountains, and now in Antarctica!
Something you don’t have listed on your resume: I’ve climbed El Capitan in Yosemite with a paraplegic woman.
Jenn McGhee
Job on ship: Deputy Voyage Leader
What brought me here: I love the landscape of Antarctica, sailing across the Southern Ocean and the challenges of working in remote small communities.
Career highlights: Managing the coordination of a C130 Hercules, two Basler DC-3s, a twin Otter and three B3 Squirrel helicopters on the ground, all interfacing on a single day at the little Davis Plateau Ski Landing Area otherwise known as Whoop Whoop. Constructing and maintaining a 2.2 km runway on the plateau with a small crew and minimal equipment and have all aircraft come and go safely with their passengers and equipment is challenging and satisfying.
Working in the Kimberley in Western Australia facilitating on a rural leadership program. It was a rich learning experience for me engaging in positive leadership and communication, and I was lucky enough to be surrounded by an incredible group of people seeking to become better leaders in their varied fields. The Kimberley landscape was stunning and we were spoiled by the local Mimbi people who shared their special places with us, told us of their history and had us camp and travel through their land.
Something not on my resume: I am a horticulturist.
Dr Kate Kloza
Job on station/ship: Antarctic Medical Practitioner
What brought you to Antarctica: The desire to practice remote solo medicine in a climate that suits my physiology, as well as the many opportunities to spy on the local wildlife
Career highlights:
- Obtaining my fellowship with ACRRM to become a Rural Generalist
- Working for the RFDS in northern SA and having the opportunity to visit remote communities and stations while living in the beautiful Flinders Ranges
- Wintering at every Australian station on the continent and in the sub-Antarctic
- Swimming with sea turtles on "Sunday Fundays" while working as a ship doctor in the northern waters off Australia
Something you don’t have listed on your resume: I am an avid collector of acrylic brooches, especially small Australia artisan made brooches. I can swoop faster than a Wedge Tail Eagle on a bush rabbit when it comes to snapping up brooches at the release time!
Dr. Vijyakumari A Sugirthalingam
Job on station/ship: MPV Everest Ship Doctor and Pocket Rocket
What brought you to Antarctica: WORK – I was offered a job of a life time which I could not turn down.
Career highlights:
- Working with Captain Thunderous Jan and The Russian Mafia – Denis, Andrey, Ivan and Egor
- The climate, weather, geology and wildlife of this unique region BUT most of all I was struck by its beauty and tranquillity.
- Learning and acquiring knowledge from the experiences of the expeditioners about their lives working for many months, their perseverance, motivation and their ability to work under harsh & stressful conditions.
Something you don’t have listed on your resume: Finally ME – Doc. Spicy Squirrel
Lauren Wise (another cleverly disguised Dr, PhD in Chemistry)
Job on station/ship: Voyage Management Assistant… aka Andy’s PA (Pest Annihilator)
What brought you to Antarctica: Sheer luck! What started as a three month contract in the Remediation Project as an analytical environmental chemist has turned into 11 years with the Australian Antarctic Program. As part of the Remediation Project I was fortunate to go to Macca and Casey stations multiple times for the summer and on round trips. Andy was the Voyage Leader on my first voyage.
Career highlights:
- Completion of the novel that was my PhD in Synthetic and Computational Organometallic Chemistry
- The people I’ve met, friends that I’ve made and the opportunities I've had by being part of the Australian Antarctic Program.
- The 2019/20 Season at Casey where I took on multiple roles during the season:
- The lead on the Casey Container Inventory Project, where the station team returned to Australia 432 tonne of cargo on V2, we filled the Aurora bar one crate sized space
- Resupply Coordinator for Voyage 2; and
- Finishing off the season working on the Remediation Project assisting building the mega pile… Biopile X
Something you don’t have listed on your resume: I’ve umpired field hockey at National level, both junior and senior levels.
