As graduations fast approach for 2024, we caught up with Alumni Relations Content Producer Leonard Rowe to hear about the importance of connecting with our students after graduation. He shared about the favourite alumni stories he’s helped tell, and how his interesting hobby has him racing around the streets at top speed.

What is your role here at Flinders?

I’m a Content Producer within the Alumni Relations Team. We aim to foster and strengthen relationships between the University and our alumni network of more than 130,000 graduates. My role is to develop and implement communication strategies, marketing plans and activities across a variety of channels – initiatives like our annual Encounter magazine, professional development opportunities and the many events (like reunions) and networks that our team manage. There are so many great ways alumni can engage with Flinders and success stories for us to tell!

How did you get into this work?

I’ve spent my career telling stories about brands and individuals. As much as I enjoyed working at Ford many years ago writing about the technical specs of a Mustang, nothing compares to human interest for me! My career began as a cadet journalist with ACP Magazines – a dream job at the time. The ad I applied for was actually printed in the motorcycle magazine I read religiously, which I ended up working for… geez, that makes me sound old!

As magazine sales declined, I decided to broaden my skillset with a marketing degree. After stints in agency land and working freelance (you’re never unemployed as a writer, you’re just freelancing!), I landed at Deakin Uni and never looked back. I really enjoyed engaging with prospective students and learning how the sector ticked. Now, here I am but at the other end of the funnel talking to graduates that (almost always) want to share their positive experience of Flinders.

What’s a fun fact about you?

My brother and I are the current South Australian Road Racing Sidecar Champions. We also came second nationally this year for our class, which was an unexpected achievement! For those not in the know, a sidecar is basically a motorcycle with a platform and third wheel attached on the left-hand side. There are different disciplines, like speedway or motocross, but we race on road tracks like Phillip Island and The Bend. My brother is the rider and I’m the passenger, so my job is to jump from left to right shifting my weight according to the corner… or as flat and out of the wind as I can be when we’re going in a straight line!

It’s great fun, although probably not the sport most new dads take up – I have a very supportive and patient wife! My brother has raced professionally on two-wheels for the past decade here and in the UK, while I dabbled in racing when I was younger, so three wheels is a new adventure. With our dad racing his whole life just like our grandpa did, it was probably a given we’d end up continuing the passion. Here’s hoping we go one better on the national scene next year!

What’s your favourite thing about working with alumni?

Their positivity towards Flinders is quite infectious. I don’t have to drag a story out of them, most people genuinely want to tell me about how much they were supported here and how they’ve now put their knowledge to good use. Even when I’m placed on a table at an alumni reunion for example, the small talk doesn’t seem forced like other networking functions, people want to reminisce with a smile and tell you all about the fun times they had here.

Tell us your favourite Flinders story.

I’ve written a few now! I think my favourite would be a profile I wrote on Dr Lourenço Camnahas. He came to Flinders on an Australia Awards Scholarship to study Public Health. Not because his parents said so, or because that’s what his ATAR allowed, but because his home country of Timor-Leste was in the grips of revolution and desperately needed to rebuild its public health system. He came back on a second scholarship years later to learn how to teach others, allowing him to transfer knowledge in the hospital he worked for. The story changed my perception of what we are doing at Flinders and how for some, access to higher education is more than just an avenue for a promotion or career change. You can read the story here.

How do you spend your spare time?

There’s not a great deal of it now we have a six month old at home! To be fair, he’s great when we’re out and will happily chill in his pram while we catch up with friends and family. Other than the usual socialising and family time, I enjoy getting out with our dog who misses being the centre of attention or staying in to cook a good meal!