RH: How long have you been here and what's your role?  

DM: So, in my current stint, I have been here for five months - since the start of the year. My current role is Head of Experiential Education. I oversee Outdoor Ed, the Kirrikee property and co-curricular (although not sport or music) as well as international and domestic tours.  

RH: When you say your current stint, does this suggest that you were here before?  

DM: I’ve been here for a fair while! I was at SACS in 2004 as an Outdoor Ed trainee. Then from 2005 to 2008, I was a casual Outdoor Ed instructor while at Uni. From 2009 to 2011 I was full-time Outdoor Ed staff when the new style ‘experiential’ Year 10 programme came in. Then from 2012 until 2022, I would come back to work two or three camps a year, just casually in and around my other jobs.  

RH: So, what you’re saying is that basically you’ve never left.  

DM: That’s right, I left SACS as a student in 2003. 2022 and 2023 were the only years that I didn't do any work for the School.  

RH: What motivated you to come back this time? I mean, you clearly know the place inside out. 

DM: This time, I was presented with an opportunity to step into a leadership role which was newly created. Having oversight over lots of different experiential things is great. In some co-curricular programmes, there are plenty of things that I had no idea about and yet I oversee them, like debating and dancing. Thankfully the people who report to me do know what they're talking about! 

RH: Talk to me about your time at School here. What was School like for you? What were some of your memories of when you were here?  

DM: I started at the end of Term Four of Year 5. So, I kind of came in as the weird, odd kid that was the only new starter in Term Four 1996. I was such a mid-range kid; I coasted through the middle. Didn't cause too many issues.  Probably part of my personality as I’m the youngest of five children – frequently going under the radar! 

RH: Was Outdoor Ed a big thing for you when you were at School?  

DM: Well, I went on all the normal Kirrikee camps throughout my time at St Andrew’s. I did the Year 11 leaders camp which doubled as the Year 9 camp to the snow - we used to send Year 11 leaders on these too. Before Covid I think I’d been on 17 snow camps out of a possible 19 since leaving School.  

RH: Despite being the ‘mid-range kid’, what was the naughtiest thing you did at school?  

DM: It depends if you want these things on the record! There were a few ‘misdemeanors’ but I couldn’t possibly comment!  

RH: Being an Old Andrean, how has that, if at all, influenced you in your role here? Has that helped? 

DM: Look, it's interesting. I have many connections with other staff as well as fellow Old Andreans, staff who are still here but also taught me. I now work very closely with Michele Hall (nee Wade), the PDHPE teacher, who taught me as a student over 20 years ago. Grace Stone, who's been here for a long time and taught me, came with us to Nepal and Borneo. When you do those extended trips with people, you get to know them in a very different way. You see people at their highest and their lowest especially when dealing with issues like altitude sickness! 

Some students that I've taken on trips are surprised I’ve come through St Andrews, and I've worked in my career as an outdoor educator. For a high-rise school, it shouldn’t be common, yet our Outdoor Ed program has produced several Outdoor Education professionals.  

It speaks testament to the various Heads of School who have continued to prioritise the importance of Outdoor Ed when it would have been much cheaper and easier to just outsource it.  It takes a lot of resources and a lot of sometimes ‘robust’ conversations with parents who, you know, may or may not always see the value in it. It’s brilliant that we can say this is part of the character development that we want for you as a student. It’s great to see.  

RH: And finally, what else do you do when you're not working here? 

DM: Well. Three kids - aged 8, 6 and 4, so I’m tired.   

I also enjoy mountain biking and climbing. Doing a bit of running right now, which is just what's achievable now in terms of time. At night with a dog around my local area, In seriousness though it's cool. We have a camper trailer, and we take off during School holidays, go camping and things. I must work out how to get them into snow camp!