51黑料

鈥淭o me the school motto is about looking up to people you respect.鈥�

When Gayle Martini joined Yarra in Year 11, she was one of a handful of girls in the senior school and she admits that enrolling at Yarra wasn鈥檛 entirely her choice.

鈥淢y parents wanted me to come to Yarra but I wanted to stay at my old school with my friends. One Saturday, Dad picked me up from my part-time job and said we were going to Yarra there and then to meet the careers counsellor so I could choose my subjects. I was floored and started school two days later!鈥�

However, the move to Yarra changed Gayle鈥檚 life for the better as she met her now husband, Aaron, at the school.

鈥淎aron鈥檚 sister and I had gone to school together so when I joined Yarra, we already knew each other. Aaron was the year above me and once his Year 12 exams were finished, he bought me a packet of cheese and bacon balls and we sat on the steps together and ate them鈥�the rest is history!鈥� says Gayle.

Despite her initial reservations, Gayle quickly settled in to the Yarra way of life. Keen on sports, she played volleyball, was Year 12 Basketball Captain and was also proficient in the pool.

鈥淪port was huge at Yarra and I played lots of volleyball at lunch-time. I was also pretty good at House swimming because I grew up in Sydney, we had a pool and I was a water baby. I still love to exercise because it puts me in a positive frame of mind.鈥�

After graduating, Gayle did a business diploma at Swinburne TAFE before then completing a business degree while also working for Hewlett Packard.

When Aaron was offered a job opportunity in California, he and Gayle moved to the US for a year. When they returned, they married, bought a house and Gayle began her career in marketing.

She says many of the lessons she learned at Yarra have stayed with her and life has taught her some useful advice that she鈥檇 now share with her younger self.

鈥淚鈥檝e learned that you can鈥檛 change how people act, but you can change how you react. You can be the bigger person,鈥� she says.

鈥淚 remember that when I was young, what other people thought was so important but then you grow up and realise how little it means. Now I think 鈥榳ho cares?鈥� I think it鈥檚 important to do what you want to do with confidence and to remember to ask for help when you need it. There is power in asking for people to help you find answers when you are struggling.鈥�