‘Activity Bazz’ Meets the Podcasters

When Year 6 students Jasmine and Sophie settled in to interview Alumna Amelia Barry (2007) for the Junior School Podcast in Term 4, they discovered someone whose Wenona nickname perfectly captured her approach to both school and career.

‘Activity Bazz’, as she was known during her time at the School, earned that moniker by throwing herself into everything from drama productions to Water Polo, Touch Football to Rock Concert.

Now leading content creation at Canva, one of Australia's most innovative technology companies, Amelia's journey offered the podcast team a fascinating glimpse into how school passions can evolve into remarkable careers. Working alongside Seina and Alex behind the scenes, Jasmine and Sophie guided the conversation from Amelia's memories of Wenona to her current role shaping digital design platforms used by millions worldwide.

The interview revealed intriguing parallels between Amelia's school years and today's student experience. "We had computers and laptops," she recalled, "though we didn't have the new gymnasium on the Senior Campus yet." She confessed she hadn't forgotten the pressure of getting homework done, then added with a laugh that the canteen's hot cheese roll – literally cheese in a roll heated in a microwave – probably wouldn't meet today's health standards.

Through their questions, the students uncovered how Amelia's career path wound through 15 years of television production before landing in technology. She helped create beloved shows like Love on the Spectrum and War on Waste, worked on Gruen, and eventually led content for Uber before joining Canva.

When the conversation turned to what "creating content" actually means, Amelia's explanation revealed the complexity behind the seemingly simple designs Canva users create daily. Content encompasses video, photography, copywriting or anything that feels designed by or organically served from Canva. Running a campaign, she explained, means developing one core message then working out how to express it across multiple platforms: video, photography, email, presentations.

What emerged most clearly was Amelia's enthusiasm for working at an Australian company building world-leading technology. "It's thrilling to work for a company that people know and love," she told the students. "There's tremendous affection out there for Canva."

The podcast project gave Jasmine, Sophie, Seina and Alex the chance to explore how someone's willingness to try everything, whether Touch Football or television production, can lead to extraordinary places. For these Year 6 students developing their own interviewing and production skills, Amelia's story offered an inspiring reminder that the most exciting careers often come from embracing every opportunity along the way.

To listen to this and the other episodes: https://wenonadigital.podbean.com/