As Typhoon Lan battered Osaka outside, Jessie Whyman logged onto Zoom for a job interview that was going to once again alter the course of her life – for her and her family.
The scene around her would have almost certainly been chaotic.
As the weather battered the thin walls of the small, Japanese apartment outside, Jessie’s children were inside, moving around animatedly, playfully trying to get their mother’s attention.
“At one point I was trying to articulate a strategic response to a question with both kids doing cartwheels on the bed in front of me," Jessie says.
"I had to steady the computer with my legs because the bed also acted as my office.”
It’s a scene that so easily seems to represent how Jessie moves through life – she comes across as calm and professional in a world that can be at times rough and chaotic.
Understanding her past may go some way to understanding this.
From courtrooms to creativity
Jessie was a lawyer first.
Working within Queensland’s criminal law and justice sector, she gained experience across many roles in her decade working there, including in the Coroner’s Court and in the Office for the Director for Public Prosecutions.
She enjoyed the work – it was meaningful. But there was something missing.
Jessie explains that she spent a lot of time facing health issues as a child. In a household with little money, books were a cheap and accessible sanctuary for her to seek refuge.
“I am still rarely ever seen without a book in my hand or bag,” she says.
She always wanted to explore this world more. But law was where she had landed – for the time being.
It was only when she had her own children that something shifted inside Jessie – she decided to return to university to pursue a career in the creative industries after the birth of her second child.
Incredibly, as if undertaking a new degree while raising two children with her husband wasn’t enough of a drastic and profound change in her life, Jessie decided to apply for the New Colombo Plan Scholarship – an Australian Government program designed to provide opportunities for university students to study and live overseas in the Indo-Pacific region.
Taking the leap
Jessie’s New Colombo Plan application was successful, which meant uprooting the family’s life in Caboolture to spend almost two years living in and travelling around the Pacific region, splitting their time mostly between Malaysia and Japan.
In Kuala Lumpur Jessie interned at Mattel – the global toy company behind Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price – where she worked on campaigns designed to “inspire confidence and ambition in young girls”.
Not only that, she worked with Melinda Looi – one of the country’s most celebrated fashion designers, known for her avant-garde collections and weaving cultural heritage into fashion design.
As part of that work, Jessie partnered with a bookshop on a three-day event, which included book reading sessions at some local orphanages.
“During the days when most of the project management was done, I was able to run the book reading, which I loved,” Jessie says.
“That was a big standout for me.”
After Malaysia, Jessie and her family moved to Japan – first to Yamanashi, nestled at the base of Mount Fuji, and later to Osaka.
“It was definitely an adjustment,” she says.
“The first house we lived in was a traditional wooden home with literal paper walls, so the kids had to learn very quickly not to touch them.”
Between language classes, university study and family life, Jessie found herself designing and curating a creative showcase for performing arts students – a project that drew more than 170 submissions, doubling the university’s previous record.
While she was in Osaka, Jessie turned her mind to the future.
She was still about a year away from graduating but had already started applying for jobs, including a position with the Australian Government’s Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts (the department). This position was within the International Arts section of the Office for the Arts, working on arts-related policy.
She interviewed as Typhoon Lan battered the city in 2023, landing the role. With a background in law, government, a good appreciation for the Indo-Pacific in a global context and a degree in Creative Industries, the decision may not have taken long.
Back in Oz
Jessie has been working for the department for a couple of years now. After spending some time as a Departmental Liaison Officer, including during caretaker in the last Federal Election, Jessie moved on up to become an Assistant Director within the Domestic Aviation and Reform Division, where she regulates leased federal airports as well as aircraft noise and curfews.
It’s not a career trajectory she could have predicted but it’s one that has aligned her personality, goals and personal ambition.
“I would encourage anyone to apply to the Federal Government as a graduate. I have loved my time with the department, I feel like I have finally found my place in my team,” Jessie says.
“But, although I’ve been in government since I was 17,” she says. “I’ve always needed a creative outlet alongside it.
“I think that balance – between the logical and the imaginative – is what keeps me grounded.”
Bachelor of Creative Industries program coordinator Dr Hannah Banks says the program has been designed to give students a rounded view of the sector so graduates can enter the workforce prepared.
“We have developed this through blending creative practice, industry experience and offering opportunities global mobility – such as the New Colombo Plan,” Dr Banks says.
“Students who study Creative Industries at UniSC don’t just learn – they become adaptable, multi-skilled professionals ready to shape complex and changing worlds.”
Where the future lies
Unprepared to pause, Jessie is ready to embark on her next academic adventure: a PhD exploring how law and policy can guide the way authors write about real-world issues.
As part of it, she’s drafting a young adult novel about human trafficking, aiming to challenge stereotypes and ensure fictional portrayals reflect the truth of survivors’ experiences.
“It’s about using creativity responsibly,” she says.
“Stories shape how people understand the world – so we have to treat them with care.”
Between family, full-time work and doctoral research, Jessie admits her schedule is hectic – but she’s not one to shy away from a challenge.
“I’ve never really been someone who just goes with the flow,” she smiles.
“I think if you want something to change, you make it happen.”
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