Pam Burnett

"Yarra's philosophy was to keep questioning and trying new things."

Pam Burnett joined Yarra in 1986. At that time, girls were only able to join the school from Year 11 onwards and she was one of 45 girls in her year level.

“I spent four years at a small, local high school and Yarra was a huge change. Walking through those school gates was quite something,” she says.
“Yarra offered a surf camp, a snow camp, a Rock Eisteddfod and things I’d never been exposed to before. I signed up for everything I could!”

During her time at Yarra, Pam spent many hours in the arts and graphics room and it was her Year 12 graphics teacher who steered her towards a marketing degree.

“It was the best piece of career advice I ever had. Our graphics teachers created an amazing environment for us students. They kept the studio open until 9 o’clock at night and at weekends, too. They gave us so much support and we all felt very thankful for that,” says Pam.

“Yarra opened my eyes to so many opportunities. I hadn’t thought about going to university or studying marketing. I’d never thought about skiing before either. We were encouraged to find what we were passionate about and to follow that. Part of Yarra’s philosophy was to keep questioning and trying new things.”

Today Pam is Chief Marketing Officer of a social enterprise supporting people with disabilities. Previously she has worked in marketing at IBM and for major food manufacturers including Cadbury Schweppes and Heinz.

“Marketing is about understanding what the customer wants and these days that’s about understanding data. You need to have great ideas of course, but you also need data that helps you understand people’s behaviour, what they are purchasing, how they’re engaging with media and what they value,” she says.

Recalling the Yarra motto, Pam interprets it as striving to be the best you can be and to do the most you can do. It’s a motto she continues to live by. After decades in the marketing world, she still attends workshops, presentations and networking events to continually deepen her knowledge.

“Yarra taught me to keep looking, learning and questioning,” she says.

“I’ve been asked whether it’s worth going to a private school. I think you can go to any school and get a good mark if you are motivated, but if you want opportunities beyond simply learning subjects like English and Maths, you should go to Yarra. It’s a school I’m very proud I had the opportunity to attend.”