It鈥檚 a sentiment familiar to many when the comfortable structure of school is no longer there: 鈥淲hat am I going to do now that I鈥檝e graduated?鈥� It can bring on fear, worry or confusion when the opportunities available for study and work don鈥檛 chime with what school graduates see themselves doing after hanging up their uniform for the last time.

Naomi Blitz (Dorot Carmel 2017) has packed an incredible amount into her post-Carmel experience. She鈥檚 seized every opportunity that has come her way then, when those have run out, sought her own.

Following graduation, Naomi hopped on a plane to Israel on a gap year to study Art and Torah at a midrasha. She revelled in all that the experience offered, including meeting different nationalities, but her mettle was tested when she fell ill and was diagnosed once back in Perth with health conditions.

While taking time out to get her health back on track, Naomi enrolled for a Diploma in Tourism at TAFE. 鈥淚 did the VET path at Carmel, completing separate Cert 3 Tourism and Events courses. I wasn鈥檛 sure where I was navigating to at that time but those certificates later allowed me to go the diploma route at TAFE, where I worked on the , the largest annual event in the business-to-business (B2B) tourism calendar, hosted in Perth that year.

鈥淢eeting people from the business sector and all over the world was amazing,鈥� she says of her early days post-travel back in Perth.

Around that time, Naomi also joined Carmel鈥檚 Tefilla program. 鈥淢ost people don鈥檛 interact with their school after graduation but what makes Carmel so special is that you can return to do Tefilla, which I did for a year. It grounded and reconnected me with the Jewish side of life after returning from Israel,鈥� notes Naomi who, following her involvement with School Tefilla and Bnei, has now joined the (Australian Union of Jewish Students) executive as events coordinator. She also helps out at Menora Charity Fund.

When no job outcome emerged after completing her Tourism Diploma, Naomi enrolled in the Events Management Diploma. At the same time, she got involved with the , which offers young people opportunities to grow and thrive. For Naomi, this paved the way to working with stall owners at the Scarborough Beach Markets and festivals, for which she was nominated and won the Youth Community Citizen of the Year award in 2020.

Her Markets experience saw Naomi seeking out other opportunities in this space. Walking from TAFE to the bus station in the city one day, she noticed the (PMM) operating out of Yagan Square. 鈥淚 approached someone in high-vis and said, 鈥業鈥檓 really interested in what鈥檚 going on here. Can I meet the manager?,鈥欌�� she says, a bold move that netted her an internship with the PMM and later a job doing social media work for to put on their Festival. 听听

Next, drawing on her prior liaison with the Stirling Youth Advocates and a passion for jewellery-making, Naomi attended a community meeting in Mirrabooka which focused on the emerging Mirrabooka Community Markets project. Naomi met a lady there who showed her the ropes of kickstarting a community market. The following season she took on the role of project officer at the inaugural season, which ended in April of this year.

Nearing the conclusion of her TAFE studies, Naomi worked at the . 鈥淚 assisted with sport, leadership and art programs for children with a CaLD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) and refugee background. I then helped out at the , where I organised catering and other provisions for the 500 people who attended that day,鈥� she expands. Naomi later assisted at the Museum of Freedom and Tolerance鈥檚 Youth Summit project.

鈥淏eing involved with the markets through the Stirling Youth Advocates was a real turning point for me,鈥� says Naomi of the doors that experience opened for her. 鈥淭hrough them, I met and got to know people from over 23 different cultures. I am now working on another project called Community Exchange where I run small food events, including a Bollywood Festival and a pasta-making workshop. They are a lot of fun and are popular with their communities in the City of Swan.鈥�

Recently Naomi helped secure a grant from to run a mental health seminar, which she does at the same time as undertaking her regular job. Separately, she performs support work, assisting those in need to get to appointments.

Jokingly asked if she finds time to sleep, Naomi says she does, but that earlier in the year when tensions were ramping up against Israel, she joined a webinar course about advocacy for Israel through a student-led advocacy group called . The only Australian on the course, it was held late at night Perth time. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 get much sleep over that four-week period!鈥� she wryly quips.

Says Carmel Careers Advisor Mrs Zsuzsi Shuhandler, 鈥淣aomi has used her VET studies at Carmel as a springboard to fully use the opportunities that have come her way since and has actively sought out others. Telling her story, we hope, will give other young graduates the courage and drive to actively shape their own futures. We are so proud of her.鈥�