LUMEN Summer 2019 - Flipbook - Page 26
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Sandy Verschoor
“We do groundbreaking projects in
this city, we’re just not very loud at
telling our own story. Adelaide people
are passionate, creative and push
boundaries, yet are quite humble at
the same time, which is the thing I
love most about this city.”
Going right back to childhood,
curiosity and creativity have been the
driving forces behind our Lord Mayor.
“I don’t think I’ve lost the essence
of what I was like as a child, I was
insanely curious and that was
encouraged,” said Ms Verschoor.
“I wanted to know how things
worked. I was the kid that got my
fingers stuck in things and I used
to follow my dad around and ask
how does this work, how does that
work, and I’d take things apart and
try to work out how they went back
together – not always successfully.”
“I grew up in a family where taking
risks and finding new ways and
creativity and innovation were just part
and parcel of what you did every day.”
“With that came lots of ups and
downs. As a family, we've had to
traverse that territory where things
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THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
worked incredibly well and also when
they didn’t.”
A thirst for new knowledge led Sandy
to study a Bachelor of Arts at the
University of Adelaide where she
discovered a passion for political
sociology and psychology.
It has been a lifetime love of
learning that has led her to further
qualifications, including a Masters
of Creative Writing, also from the
University of Adelaide, a PhD in
Business, a Diploma in Journalism
and an MBA in entrepreneurship
to name a few.
Tapping into her ever-present
creative side, and putting her
Masters to good use, Sandy, who
is only the third female mayor in
Adelaide City Council’s 178 year
history, loves to write.
“I think I’ve always been a writer. I
have an active imagination –
my husband would say a bit too
active – and I like to channel that
through words.”
She has a book underway and writes
poetry – a passion she rediscovered
during her Masters. She is also a
budding playwright. Earlier this year
at the Adelaide Fringe, a play she
authored had its first public reading.
Before she entered local government,
our Lord Mayor was entrenched
in South Australia’s arts and
culture industries.
Her very first break in the arts as
a marketing manager for the 1996
Adelaide Festival was fortuitous.
“My first experience was doing
the 1996 Adelaide Festival, Barrie
Kosky’s festival, which just about
blew my brain because it was the
most extraordinary experience I’d
