The Outstanding Young Alumni Awards are presented each year across five fields of expertise: Arts, Business, Sport, STEM and Community.
Nominees must have graduated from Haileybury within the past 12 years, have made significant achievements in their field of endeavour and have been an inspiration to others.
Congratulations to the following Old Haileyburians who were awarded Outstanding Young Alumni Awards for 2023.
ARTS – Lucy Paterson (OH 2017)
At the age of 12, Lucy was diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases and then osteoporosis at 20. At 23, she suffered complications following end stage liver failure and received an emergency transplant on Christmas Eve, 2022. Despite this, Lucy completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma in Music from the University of Melbourne and the Victorian College of the Arts, obtaining first class honours in both courses. Whilst studying and experiencing recurring episodes of acute liver infections, Lucy continued her drama vocation while on exchange at Queen Mary University, London
ARTS – Jackson Peele (OH 2014)
Jackson is a graduate of WAAPA – WA Academy of Performing Arts (Music Theatre) and an acclaimed local musical theatre performer and writer. His recent 2022 sell-out Melbourne Fringe Season mini-musical, ‘The Beep Test’ has won multiple awards including the Green Room Award for Best New Australian Music Theatre Writing.
BUSINESS – Jessie Curtain (OH 2014)
In 2019, Jessie embarked on her journey with Pinnacle Sport Aerobics, and within a span of four years, she has orchestrated remarkable growth for her Club. Starting with a mere five athletes, she has expanded her team to an impressive 25 while also establishing a new location. Balancing her role as a Senior School teacher at Haileybury with the management of the OHA Aerobics Club, Jessie oversees Pinnacle Sport Aerobics beyond regular school hours. The club has secured numerous State and National titles and some athletes have represented their country internationally.
BUSINESS – James Doyle (OH 2019)
James is Co-founder and Director of Strive Teaching. Strive Teaching offers professional career education through online courses and digital work experience. The program develops from Years 7–12 and provides schools with student career readiness data as they progress. Their program is based on data driven insights directly from industry that is mapped to school curriculum. This ensures that students are provided with the best future ready skills for their future pathways. James is dedicated to bridging the gap between secondary schools and industry.
BUSINESS – Keelan Hartnett (OH 2012)
Keelan is the Managing Director for Flo-Smart, an innovator in the design and manufacture of automated beverage dispensing systems globally. In a rapidly evolving Food and Beverage industry, where rising costs and sustainability concerns dominate, Flo-Smart offers a solution that simplifies complexity. Businesses can now serve more drinks, maintain consistency, and reduce beverage and plastic waste.
SPORT – Finn Broadbent (OH 2019)
Finn is a natural athlete and excels at golf, tennis and football. Finn’s golf handicap is an impressive 15. He is a wheelchair tennis champion who has competed in World Cups and climbed as high as seven on the Junior Singles rankings in 2019. He currently plays for Hawthorn in Victorian Wheelchair Football League (VWFL). In 2022, he was selected for the AFL Wheelchair Victorian Nationals Squad in only his second year of competing. Finn’s motto is ‘you get out what you put in!’
SPORT – Nathan Ephraums (OH 2017)
Nathan debuted for the Australian Men’s Hockey team, the Kookaburras, in 2020. He was part of the 2022 Commonwealth Games Gold Medal team and was named the Commonwealth Games Australia Emerging Athlete of the Month for July 2022. Nathan was an instrumental part of the team who played in the FIH Pro League in 2020, 2022–23 and the World Cup in 2023. Recently, the Kookaburras secured their spot at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
SPORT – Sam Jeffree (OH 2016)
Sam was the National Young Rider Eventing Champion and was Equestrian Victoria’s Eventing Rider of the Year in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, he represented Australia on the Senior Team at the Oceania Championships. Sam has recently been named on the National Next Generation squad and has his sights firmly set on continuing to compete successfully at the highest international level. He completed his first International event at the age of 14, and in the years following has had exceptional success at 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-star events on a string of very different horses.
STEM – Katya Gvozdenko (OH 2019)
Katya is a medical student fascinated with healthcare policy, medtech and space exploration. She was recently appointed as one of eight members of the Executive team of the Australian Medical Students Association (AMSA) in 2022. The AMSA is the peak representative body of Australia’s 18,000 medical students. The Executive discuss strategies in improving youth mental health and have given advice to government on the national suicide prevention strategy as well as broader policy.
COMMUNITY – Gizem Cherkez (OH 2018)
Gizem is a passionate supporter of National Breast Cancer Foundation and hosted an inspiring Pink Ribbon Afternoon Tea to raise money for breast cancer research. The event raised over $11,000 (more than double her original target of $5,000).
COMMUNITY – Taylah Miranda (OH 2017)
Every year Taylah Miranda hosts Australia’s Biggest Playdate, a massive event with games, rides, food and entertainment, with every dollar spent going to the Monash Children’s Cancer Centre. Taylah was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was 14 years-old. In 2018, she featured on The Project determined to make a huge difference in the lives of other young cancer sufferers with her relentless fundraising efforts. Her aspiration is to be a doctor specialising in oncology.