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C.A.S. HAWKER SCHOLARS
Hawker Scholar: 1996 - 1999
I am very thankful for the unique opportunities the Hawker Scholarship gave me. Along with the considerable financial and educational rewards came countless personal rewards. In particular, my Grandfather Alec Grove-Jones took great delight in the link between my education and his fond memories of his early working life at Bungaree and his ongoing contact with the Hawker family. In what would have been my final year (2000) I decided to do a slightly lighter load although still studying full time. I worked at ANU at the Research School of Information Sciences and Engineering as the Assistant to the Director, Professor Brian Anderson who was then the President of the Australian Academy of Science (1999). After a year in this position I began work at Arthur Andersen which then became Andersen and was there for 6 months before taking a full time position at the ANU as Program Administrator for the Information Literacy Program upon finishing my degree in July 2001. Taking this position was the result of what seemed to be too many years at University and feeling the need to move 'outside the box' and do something removed from legal work. It hindsight, it was the best thing I could have done as although it used very little of my specialist knowledge it did make me very aware and thankful for the skills that a tertiary education provides. Working in an area that was focussed on providing training and education to enhance graduate attributes made me realise the skills that I had, and in particular the grasp of technology. Information literacy is such an important competency these days, particularly being able to access information through a variety of mechanisms (print, Internet, electronic journals etc). The opportunity to expand my skills and prepare course materials and conduct training was fantastic, and certainly reinforced what I had suspected for a while: that there were so many different things that I wanted to do in my life, that the corporate/legal path that I had been focussed on may not be for me. During my Law degree I developed an interest in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). I was intrigued by the concept of mutually agreeable outcomes - especially after 5 years of law school being taught when dealing with cases to get as much as possible while giving the least. In particular, diversionary conferencing for juvenile offenders and the concept of restorative justice seemed to make so much sense to me, and yet seemed so under-utilised. Mediation was something that was used to an extent in the legal and court spheres, and yet was often involuntary or court-ordered which did not seem to make much sense. I set about a two year plan to work in an area dealing with ADR and was fortunate within 6 months to achieve my goal. I was the Manager Policy and Program Development for the Directorate of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management in the Department of Defence from February 2002 until October 2003. I was responsible for writing and publishing the Defence policy on ADR including its use in workplace disputes and claims against the Commonwealth, procurement disputes and the program also has an environmental and peacekeeping focus. I also conduct mediations on occasion, am a trained workplace conference facilitator and I have co-authored and published an article in the Australasian Dispute Resolution Journal titled 'Dealing with Conflict within the Military: An Evolving Model for Managing Conflict and Promotion Good Working Relationships among Defence Employees'. I enjoy the challenge that the role offers as well as the continued public service. I enjoy working in Defence and the challenges that working in a large public sector organisation (over 92, 000 people) brings. I believe strongly in the protective and defensive role that Defence fulfils and take great satisfaction in contributing to the safety of our nation. More specifically, the people focus of my position appeals to me as I am able to see the direct positive impact of the work I do. .
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NONI CADD
