"I’m the oldest of three kids – the only girl – in an Italian family. I guess you could say I’m a classic eldest child – we have a family joke that I am setting standards quite high for my brothers. I definitely like to achieve something once I’ve set my mind to it. I got an early entry offer for Macquarie but still worked hard to get the results I wanted.
I’m a total STEM brain. History? Ugh, disgusting. Anything with an essay? Nope – all those essays in high school were enough. I’m about to finish the last unit in my IT degree, majoring in cyber security, and I’m already working full time for TPG Telecom, which I’m absolutely loving.
I went to an all girls high school. I remember being interested in coding and being told ‘coding is only offered at boys’ schools'. That really sucked. So Macquarie has been great in that sense – to have all these interesting subjects available to me, that I actually want to do (although the irony is that I don’t really love coding now!).
I loved high school but I was very much ready to leave by the end of it. Being gay and the school Vice-Captain was tricky. My friends and family knew, but I chose not to be out at school. I didn’t want people to look at me differently. Coming to university was a revelation for me. I can be myself at Macquarie.
I love the fun, supportive, community vibe of frisbee – it’s very different to the intensity of competitive soccer.
Uni life has been nothing but great for me. I joined clubs and societies early on. I was going to sign up for the soccer team – I had played competitively since I was four years old – but then somebody threw a frisbee at me and that changed everything. The Macquarie Ultimate Frisbee Club became a huge part of my life, and I got involved with frisbee competitions outside uni as well. I love the fun, supportive, community vibe of frisbee – it’s very different to the intensity of competitive soccer.
It's really exciting to see the growth of frisbee in Australia. My ultimate goal is to see it included at the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane. It’s a great sport – there’s quite a few tactics involved, and it’s one of the few sports that has mixed competitions. I used to hate playing mixed at first – the boys would often have tunnel vision and only throw to other boys. But as I got better, and the boys on my team started to trust me more, and I’ve come to love it. I’m only 162 centimetres (5 feet 4 inches) and it’s fun being marked by a 182 centimetre (6 feet) guy and proving that I can match him.
I’ve been captaining teams for a few years now but unfortunately I’m ruled out from competition at the moment due to a couple of injuries. It really sucks. I hated not being able to play at the National Uni Games. I’ve had to focus on some different goals and I’m trying to use this time to develop as a coach. I’ve been appointed the assistant coach for the under 20s Australian team which will compete at the world championships in the UK next year, which is an amazing opportunity for me.
If I was giving advice to young girls at my high school now, I would probably say ‘just be yourself – who cares what anyone thinks of you.’ I’d love to share my story and show them that girls can do anything.
