Who is involved?

The University of Sydney's Compass - find your way to higher education ('Compass') program is a partnership between the University, the NSW Department of Education and Training and selected secondary and primary schools in Sydney.

The University's Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) has overall oversight of the program, supported by an advisory committee of key stakeholders.

Compass is managed on a day-to-day basis by the University's Social Inclusion Unit which initiates and coordinates project activities, manages resources and reporting.

Compass staff

Director, Social Inclusion
Annette Cairnduff
Annette has been working on equity related issues at the University since 2006. Formerly a primary school teacher, she has more than 20 years experience in capacity building and community development programs in the government and non-government sectors. She is particularly interested how engagement during the primary school years can impact the expectations of children for higher education access and participation, as well as the expectations of their parents and teachers.

Team Leader – Schools & Communities
Miriam Pellicano
Miriam’s extensive community development experience provided the Compass program with a solid foundation on which to build it’s embedded educational and volunteering programs within Compass partner schools. Her background in development and passion for working with young people has resulted in Miriam undertaking assignments to work on programs in refugee camps in the middle east. Having established our volunteer program, Miriam looks forward to extending the the Compass program further and developing even greater community engagement.

Project Manager Events and Partnerships
Simone Ross
Simone has been with the Social Inclusion Unit since March 2009 and has worked within the University of Sydney for over 5 years. Having 15 years of event management experience, Simone is kept busy running our major events, which have included the launch of the Compass Program with the then Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the Year 3 Introduction to University Day for 600 children. She also manages partnerships with agencies such as The Smith Family and is part of the Sydney Widening Participation for Higher Education Forum committee. Simone is also responsible for the day-to-day running of the Social Inclusion Unit office.

Administration Assistant
Abigail Clarkson
Abigail has a background working with children and has a passion for encouraging and supporting young people with their life choices and this is what drew her to the Compass program. Abigail’s role with the Social Inclusion Unit is a diverse one, which has her providing in-school weekly literacy support to primary school students and assisting to organise and host up to 600 students for several large-scale on-campus large-scale ‘experience’ days every year. Abigail looks forward to the new and exciting challenges this role continues to deliver.

Administration Assistant
Monique Wilson
Monique began working with the Social Inclusion Unit in the beginning of 2011. She is interested in lifelong learning, individual growth and in the values of equality and inclusion; these are the principles that led her to the social inclusion unit. She is excited about the prospect of supporting the Social Inclusion Unit as it evolves.

Project Officer - Volunteers Coordinator
Mike Tran
Mike joins the Social Inclusion Unit in 2011 and brings with him a wealth of experience in supporting university student volunteer programs. In his role with Compass, Mike will be responsible for the marketing, recruitment, training and support of Compass program volunteers. Mike looks forward to developing, even further, the role of Compass volunteers in supporting the attainment of students in primary and high school.

Project Support Officer
Sylvia Utami
Sylvia’s passion for social change and development has brought her to the social inclusion unit in 2011. She is particularly interested in initiatives that foster and support young people’s aspirations. Sylvia brings with her a range of experiences from community and higher education sectors. She looks forward to assisting Compass in implementing projects with primary and secondary schools.

Project Support Officer
Alexandra Nixey
Alex joins the Social Inclusion Unit and the Compass program in 2011 after a wide-ranging career in education. While Alex began her career as a high school science teacher in Sydney’s west, she has since taught in primary schools, co-ordinated special education programs and taught English as a second language in the Northern Territory. Alex brings to Compass a broad understanding of issues around educational access and cannot wait to bring new ideas to the Social Inclusion Unit and the Compass programs’ growing agenda.

Project Administrative Officer
Victoria Loy
Before joining the University in Sydney in 2010, Victoria taught high school English in Ontario, and then undergraduate writing in British Columbia, Canada. Since 2010, Victoria has worked with the Faculty of Art and Social Sciences’ Writing Hub, assisting in the development of a training course for first-year mentors in the Hub’s Student Writing Fellowship program.

As a graduate of the University of Toronto’s teacher education faculty, she has a strong interest in social justice and alternative pathways to higher education, and is thrilled to have found a program that serves such a diversity of students.

Senior Project Officer - Schools
Sophie Partridge
Sophie joins the Social Inclusion Unit with a broad range of experience from working in Widening Participation roles at three universities in the UK. From her first involvement with social inclusion initiatives as a Student Ambassador, to managing outreach programs across London, Sophie has a passion for working with young people.

Sophie’s most recent work building new partnerships and developing new programs with London schools means that she looks forward to continuing to build and develop relationships with the Compass partner schools.