Jen Seyderhelm visits AFTRS.
It had been six years since I stepped through the doors of the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) in Moore Park, Sydney. The cohort I worked with then were the last to not be impacted by the pandemic, although sadly their face-to-face graduation was never able to happen.
There is new leadership. Natalie Pozdeev is the Convenor of the AFTRS Graduate Diploma in Radio and Podcasting and the teaching staff, all present that day, included Discipline Lead and ABC presenter and manager of two decades, Andrea Ho, Sian Gard, who also is program manager of the Walkley Foundation, the Grammy-nominated Simon Cohen and Jennifer Goggin, the former Head of Factual and Drama for LiSTNR Original Podcasts, who takes students through this continually expanding audio space. The experience and commitment towards all sectors of radio and its many offshoots would be daunting if they weren’t all so passionate and supportive of a next generation, whatever age, gender, background or belief comes with the people who commenced their Grad Diplomas just over a week ago.
This was exemplified by one of the three students I got to speak to that day, Mark Williamson, who would have started at AFTRS twenty years ago but life (and pro wrestling as it happens) intervened. I was going to say ‘got in the way’ but that would be unfair to Mark as everything that he has done in the meantime from wrestling commentating, selling suits (‘you have to be sharp dressed in the wrestling world’) and in retail banking led to here and now, being the right time to focus on audio and studying. It was he who said of the AFTRS experience:
“Nothing gets you more pumped up than being with a team of people with similar goals and aspirations and working together to get there.”
AFTRS’ curriculum is ever-evolving, staying at the forefront of new technology and trends, like the previously mentioned podcasting, while emphasising the same core essentials. You don’t even need to step foot on the campus anymore, a result of Covid but also a reality for many working in the industry. Across full time, part time and online there are around 40 students this year who can pick subjects according to their needs.
That is what has changed the most, those needs. Throughout the pandemic and beyond, radio, audio and particularly podcasting adapted beautifully to continue to provide connection, community and essential information. Because of that, businesses, educational services and, on the other end of the spectrum, influencers and aspiring reality stars, looked for ways to expand their repertoire, increase their options for customers and refine their communication skills, and thus the students who attend AFTRS have changed and adapted too.
There is absolutely still a welcome home for the person who wants to be a voice on radio with a couple of examples from last year below. But the three students I met and spoke with on my trip to AFTRS, Mark, Lee Chan and Karl Svikis already have a sense of self and purpose that some come to AFTRS to find. They’ve all, in different ways, enrolled to make a difference. You can listen to the full interview, conducted in the AFTRS studios and ably assisted by Karl, Mark and Lee in the recording process, below:
Lee, who found fame young, working in television in Melbourne as a food presenter with a side hustle of catering, came to AFTRS after putting everything on hold for three years to care for her aunt. She sees a path where food sharing, grief and stories become intertwined:
“I had to reassess what was making me happy. What I call my old life seems like a lifetime away. And I look at that person now and I don’t even recognise her. I was so far away from family and was out most nights of the week. There was no grounding. And the experience with my aunt grounded me.
That’s where I want to be for the rest of my life. Grounded, humble, doing something that matters to me.”
Karl, with the Chris Hemsworth voice and presence but also the most gentle smile and mind wants to provide an antidote to toxic masculinity:
“I’m not a very typical masculine person. I identify as a man, and I like that about myself. But I think there are a lot of feminine things about me that I’m still learning more about it and learning to talk about. And I want to set a good example for younger men so that they can feel comfortable in themselves and expressing their emotions.”
And Mark’s joy is stories and their ways of connecting, building communities, finding commonalities and hearing underrepresented voices.
“I love stories because you learn so much about people. We’re living in a world which is really divisive right now and I think a lot of people aren’t realising how much connects us. We’d find that we all have a lot more in common than not.”
When students start their Graduate Diplomas at AFTRS they do a session where they outline what they hope they’ll get out of the course, and where they wish it to take them. Sometimes, by the time it’s over, they’ve tried something new, liked it and it takes them in a different or parallel direction.
Many end up exactly where they hoped, just with more resources in the kit bag. The students the day I visited were doing legal matters that afternoon. Andrea Ho had hyped them up with the essentialness of the information while acknowledging it wasn’t going to be as fun as the earlier hands-on learning had been. A good kit bag always has paperwork!
I believe that Lee, Mark and Karl are names and voices to remember. Creating positive change and impact runs deep in this group and they’re all motivated and inspired by each other.
Some of you reading might have worked in radio before or dipped your toe in the commercial or community sector? Maybe you’ve always wanted to be on air, learn audio production or work in news and current affairs? Perhaps you’ve talked yourself out of a place at AFTRS in the past?
What I got most out of heading to AFTRS this week is that post pandemic, fires and floods, more and more people are deciding that the time is now to do what they’ve always dreamed of. Don’t know where to start? Call or email Natalie, Sian, Andrea, Simon and Jennifer. There’s so many options. You can dip your toe in with a short course (as Karl did). Several of last year’s cohort were employed in the industry within months of commencing.
AFTRS has changed and adapted and so too its students. 2026 applications open soon.
2GF’s Misty Fisher on finally giving AFTRS and radio a go in her 40s
As lucky as Sunshine: Sunshine Wood’s unexpected path to a radio career
From AFTRS student to Jonesy & Amanda’s producer: How Monica Reid followed her dream
Pictured left to right: Radioinfo writer, editor and podcaster Jen Seyderhelm, Mark Williamson, Lee Chan and Karl Svikis.