We recently connected with Carmel alumnus Yaron Fisher (OKC 2013) who values the unique opportunities he was provided with at ¹ú±êÂ鶹ÊÓƵAPP and is proud of the many ways he has been able to give back to the Jewish community. Yaron now works for the Victorian Government, in First Peoples affairs and he is steadily focused on helping to make our world a better place.

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What did you enjoy most about attending ¹ú±êÂ鶹ÊÓƵAPP?Ìý

¹ú±êÂ鶹ÊÓƵAPP provided me with unique opportunities, both classroom-based and experiential, to develop and enrich my Jewish identity and practice. This included opportunities to engage with the texts and traditions of our heritage, the culture and experience of our people, the dynamism of our community, and our revived ancestral language.

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What are you most proud of from your school experience?

I am proud that I was able to contribute to Jewish life and learning within the school, school life and culture, and the wider Jewish and Australian communities. I firmly believe that school is about more than doing well at ATAR. I hope that through various student leadership positions, I was able to positively enrich the school culture and community.

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What skills or knowledge from Carmel helped you in your life or career?

Learning how to fluently speak Modern Hebrew has helped me travel more easily in Israel and engage with Israelis and Jews around the world. It’s also provided me with a deeper insight into Jewish and Israeli culture.

Participating in interschool debating (including when our team won the WA school debating competition grand final in year 10!) also provided me with opportunities to build my confidence in public speaking and refine my ability to formulate and articulate a coherent argument.

I remain optimistic that I’ll be able to apply my comprehensive knowledge of ruach dances and camp chants in a professional context.

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Tell us about your journey since graduation. Past roles, achievements, personal and professional highlights.

After graduating in 2013, I spent a year in Israel on a Bnei Akiva shnat program before returning to Perth to study a Bachelor of Arts at UWA, followed by Honours at Notre Dame University. Eager to give back to my community, I held volunteer and leadership roles across several Perth Jewish community organisations, including Bnei Akiva, ¹ú±êÂ鶹ÊÓƵAPP, AUJS, Dianella Shule and Maurice Zeffert Home.

My first full-time role post-graduation was as a management consultant at Nous Group, working primarily in human services, economic development and Aboriginal affairs. In 2021, I moved to Broome for a year and worked as strategy & operations manager for an Aboriginal-led and controlled organisation driving an Aboriginal self-determination and empowerment agenda. I also completed a Graduate Certificate in Aboriginal Studies at Notre Dame University.

In January last year, I moved to Melbourne and began working at CareerTrackers - an Aboriginal-led, national non-profit organisation that supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students and links them with internships at employers aligned to students' professional aspirations. A couple of months ago, I started a new role in the Victorian Government.Ìý

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Can you describe your current role?

I am a Senior Policy Officer at the Department of Premier and Cabinet in Victoria, within the First Peoples – State Relations group. My role involves developing and providing strategic, clear, evidence-based, and solution-focussed policy advice to support the Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, and the Premier, in delivering an extensive program of priority work with First Peoples. This includes cultural rights, self-determination, treaty, and truth-telling.

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What do you enjoy most about your current role?

It is a great privilege to support the self-determination of Victoria’s First Peoples. Self-determination is the right of all peoples to freely pursue their own economic, social, and cultural development. For First Peoples, this includes the right to make decisions on matters that affect their lives and communities. I am proud to support the Victorian Government’s nation-leading program of work in building ongoing, just, and respectful relationships between First Peoples and the State.

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What are you most proud of achieving in your life so far?

Embracing new experiences, opportunities, and challenges; and pushing myself to better understand and positively impact the world we live in.

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Are there any long-term goals you hope to achieve?

Being a mensch and doing my bit to make the world a better place.

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What advice do you have for our current Carmel students who are preparing for their future after graduation?

There is much to gain and learn from school, but the world – and your life – are much bigger than school! Beyond Cresswell Road and Woodrow Avenue, there’s a world that needs the unique contribution that only you can make.