Alanna Rennie was 13 years old when she left her family farm in Hillston, NSW to attend boarding school in Sydney.With aspirations, at a young age, to work as a corporate lawyer in China, and to speak fluent Mandarin, she knew she needed to pack her bags and head to the big smoke.
It was at Ascham that Alanna excelled. Taking up language classes after school hours and going on exchange to China and Argentina gave Alanna the skills and confidence to grow her career. 15 years later, and time spent abroad, attending university in The Gold Coast & Beijing, she now works for the global corporate law firm Baker Mckenzie as an associate.
When COVID hit in 2020, Alanna went from working long hours in her city office to transitioning back home to the Bush working online from her family farm. Saving herself $400 in rent a week, she tells me she now lives a more balanced life and she’s saving money. Not only does she think her productivity has increased at work, she can also spend more time outdoors helping with her sisters Chilli crop and overall is a much happier person.
Alanna featured on this years ‘The Bush Summit’ and if you haven’t listened to it you must. She’s a fine example of young skilled woman reaching her career goals while working in the bush.
In this podcast Alanna and I reminisce about our boarding school days. We chat about how lucky we are to be back living in the bush, bringing our skill sets with us. And how others can be making that tree change. Alanna tells us about how boarding school has broadened her horizons, and how taking the opportunities to go on exchange really has helped her reach the top!