I was 17, Fresh out of School and Unsure
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In 2007, Amanda Pozzobon had just finished Year 12 and, like many school leavers, was weighing up her options. She had been accepted into a Public Relations degree at university, but wasn’t quite convinced it was the right time to dive straight into study.
I didn’t have a clear sense of what I wanted to do.
I was 17, fresh out of school and unsure whether uni was the right next step.
Then, a newspaper ad caught her dad’s attention: a full-time traineeship with AFL SportsReady at Hawthorn Football Club. He suggested that Amanda apply.
He thought it would be a good stepping stone to gain some experience before I started studying.
She landed the role, joining Hawthorn’s community department as a Trainee and that decision set the tone for the rest of her career.
Amanda entered the role with limited work experience but was quickly thrown into the deep end. Within weeks, she organised school and hospital visits with AFL players, managed donation requests and helped deliver community events.
It was a huge learning curve.
I was emailing stakeholders, coordinating logistics, representing the club, it was nothing like the world I knew from school.
The role gave her a head start in understanding professional expectations, especially around communication, accountability and time management.
Most of my friends were working casual jobs in hospitality or retail. I was in a full-time office job learning about event coordination, stakeholder engagement and navigating a fast-paced workplace.
Alongside her traineeship, Amanda completed a Certificate III in Business. Not long after, she enrolled in her Public Relations degree and later, added a Law degree to the mix. Balancing work and study gave her structure and purpose.
Having real-world experience helped me engage more deeply with what I was studying. I could see how theory connected with practice.
After finishing her traineeship, Amanda stayed at Hawthorn for several years in various community and event roles. She later took her experience into other sporting organisations, working with the Melbourne Rebels and Marvel Stadium before pivoting into the legal and government sectors.
While it may seem like a leap, Amanda sees a clear connection between her early traineeship and her current work.
I work in building policy now, looking at legislative reform and systems improvement. It’s very different to footy but the skills I developed early on communicating clearly, building strong relationships, staying organised are still at the heart of what I do.
In recent years, Amanda completed her law degree and transitioned into a role with the Department of Transport and Planning. Her current work focuses on regulating Victoria’s building system and ensuring that policy is aligned with safety, compliance and reform objectives.
She credits the confidence and adaptability she’s developed over the years to her early career start.
The traineeship taught me how to work.
I learned how to show up, how to manage expectations and how to carry myself in a professional setting.
Amanda encourages other young people to consider a traineeship if they are unsure of their next step.
It’s not just a job, it’s a launch pad. You get exposed to real responsibilities and you build the kind of confidence that sticks with you.
For Amanda, that single opportunity opened a door, not just into the world of sport, but into a career that spans industries, study and systems change. Her story is a testament to what’s possible when young people are given a strong start.
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