Sarah Scott is officially the first employee of Flinders’ new city campus. We spoke about her preparations to move into Festival Tower, and she explained that she’s hunting for authentic chai on campus.

What is your role here at Flinders?

In June, I joined the Flinders family as the Associate Director, City Campus Services, and I am the first employee for our new City Campus at Festival Plaza!

Tell us about the work you’ll be doing.

I know so many colleagues across the University have put their hearts and minds into seeing the City Campus come to fruition. Our vision for the City Campus is for it to be activated, engaging and vibrant – and my job is to bring the City Campus Services to life. Specifically, my role is to lead and develop a diverse, multi-disciplinary team that provides customer service and student-centered support, and ensure we have clear and collaborative processes and systems that underpin the services we deliver. It all aims to positively impact the student experience and contribute to a vibrant, engaging and activated space at the City Campus.

With doors opening for our first small cohort of students on 2 January 2024, this is now a very busy period. I’m enjoying the opportunity to meet and work with a wide variety of colleagues across the University.

What do you find most exciting about Flinders’ new city campus?

While Flinders has been in the city for some time at Victoria Square, going in strong with the new City Campus is a game changer. I’m very excited to bring my experience in marketing (I’m a certified practicing marketer), student administration and student experience to leading the development of an exceptional customer service experience at the new City Campus. Anything feels possible for us now.

What does a typical day look like for you?

My days usually start early, as I’m more of a morning person than a night owl. I like to start my day with a cooked breakfast, a freshly brewed chai latte (as a chai snob I use the Boston Bean Coffee handcrafted chai) and some mindfulness. If you know where to find the best chai on-campus – not the powered sugar variety – please let me know.

I usually leave home just before 7.30am as I need to travel about one hour from home to Bedford Park. The drive gives me the chance to soak up a Tony Robbins podcast.

Once I get in the office, my days are full of meetings, workshops, responding to emails and teams messages. At the moment, a typical day is spread across the overall City Campus project activity and development of our support services including key technology enhancements planned for our new City Campus. This all requires lots of meetings and lots of consultation. I recently had Lisa Warren commence, our manager of City Campus Services (our second City Campus Services employee) so we are busy finalising our staffing plans and getting ready for the coming recruitment activity. Before I know it, the day is coming to a close and it’s time to make my journey home.

How do you like to relax?

I love spending time in nature. My husband and I have an off-road caravan that we make the most of, as often as we can. I love being in the middle of nowhere but still connected. Last winter, we were on the Gibb River Road, heading towards the West Australian coastline.

I write in my journal every morning as part of my mindful practice. I find this helps me find balance and perspective. Yin yoga, relaxing on the couch watching a good series or movie or catching up with friends for breakfast or Friday drinks are some of my other favourite ways to relax.

What’s your proudest achievement?

Doing my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees part-time while working full-time have been among my greatest achievements to date. Anyone who has done this knows the commitment, self-discipline and organisation necessary for this to work. I’m grateful to have a supportive husband and family who have always been there—and picked up the slack.

What makes me proud of what I do is my ability to make a positive difference. It’s one of the reasons I was attracted to the Associate Director, City Campus Services role and it keeps me motivated. At the new City Campus, we have an opportunity to try different things and provide an exceptional service to a wide range of stakeholders. To lead this and have a significant impact on what we do, the culture we build at the City Campus and the impact we can have on the lives of our students is what drives me.