Thoughts Leading Up To The Shortlist Announcement

Saw this lazy guy at Roger Williams Zoo the summer entering my freshman year at Marist with hopes that I’d be able to go abroad for a semester in Australia. I wasn’t able to go abroad because of professional responsibilities to my college, so when I heard about this contest, I saw it as my second chance.

 

If it’s meant to be, it will be. I know it’s out of my hands now. I submitted my entry video and have gone even further with creating the Send BMAC Down Under campaign. My emotions have been all over the place. Sometimes I’m really excited and anxious to hear the results of the contest and feel like I can’t wait any longer and other times I know I just need to keep doing what I do everyday and the results will come along soon enough.  I’m so lucky to have such a great support system. My family, friends and everyone else at my college have been so helpful and interested in everything that I am doing with the contest and my campaign. It keeps the momentum going and my excitement about Australia grows every day.  I keep having day dreams of where I’ll be if [and when] I get the email that I advance to the next round.  It’s crazy to think that in only 4 days I’ll either have a shot at getting this job of a lifetime or going back to the old drawing boards of applying to positions in social media and advertising back home. I wish there was more I could do to show the judges just how much the position of Chief Funster means to me and how I’d rock it in Sydney. I am only one month away from graduating Marist College with a Communications- Advertising major and Business minor. Between my education and all my extra curricular activities, I am more than fully prepared to be Chief Funster. Hopefully I’ve impressed the judges and in 4 days I’ll be announcing that I am one of the top 25 in the runnings for Chief Funster! Fingers (and toes) crossed everyone! Stay tuned!

SEND BMAC DOWN UNDER!

Sydney Fun Facts & Must Do Attractions

Ok, BMAC, we get it, you’re obsessed with Australia and becoming the Chief Funster. What’s so awesome about Sydney anyways? Well, let me be the first to tell you! Here are 5 of the “must see” attractions and some fun facts! For more information, be sure to click on the hyperlinked words embedded in this post to take you directly to the official websites for these places.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of Australia’s most well known and photographed landmarks. It is the world’s largest (but not the longest) steel arch bridge with the top of the bridge standing 134 metres above the harbour. The top of the arch actually rises and falls about 180 mm due to changes in the temperature!

Fondly known by the locals as the ‘Coathanger’.

The Bridge has an interesting past including its official opening on 19 March 1932. Before the NSW Premier, the Honorable John ‘Jack’ T. Lang, could cut the ribbon to signify the opening of the Harbour Bridge, Captain Francis De Groot of the political group The New Guard slashed the ribbon with his sword. Captain De Goot believed that the only person to open the Bridge should be a member of the Royal Family. Captain De Goot was detained, the ribbon tied together, and the Premier then officially cut the ribbon.

Since 1998, you can climb the bridge during the day, twilight and night. A group of 12 will leave for a climb every ten minutes. The safety precautions taken include a blood alcohol reading and a Climb Simulator, which shows Climbers the climbing conditions that might be experienced on the Bridge.

Sydney Tower

Sydney’s tallest free-standing structure, the second tallest in Australia.

Ranked as one of the safest buildings in the world, the striking design has made the tower capable of withstanding earthquakes and extreme wind conditions.

If you visit the tower, the SKYWALK is a “must-do” attraction! You’ll be walking on air 268 metres above Sydney with the streets directly beneath your feet. An experienced guide gives you an insider’s commentary on the amazing sights and landmarks of Sydney, plus the opportunity to have your photograph taken on the glass platform with the harbour as your backdrop.

Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts center. It is one of the most recognizable images of the modern world and has come to represent Australia. More than 7 million people visit the Opera House each year, 300,000 o whom take a guided tour. It was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973. Its first performance was The Australian Opera’s production of War and peace by Prokofiev. The Opera House is home to 1600 performances each year including ballet, opera, theatre, dance, music, comedy, kids shows, talks and more.

Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach is one of Australia’s most famous beaches and well-known worldwide. It has probably featured on more postcards and more television shows and films than any other in Australia. Each year tens of thousands of people, from backpackers to billionaires, take to the golden sands of this wide, one-kilometre long city beach expanse to walk, jog, or just soak up the sun. Being only 10 kilometres from the city centre, Bondi Beach is one of Sydney’s busiest beaches. There’s a host of events held here all year round from community art shows to city to surf running marathons.

Sculpture By The Sea

Sculpture by the Sea began in 1997 with an exhibition held over one day at Bondi Beach and is now an annual event, held over the first three weeks of November. Every year the coastal walk is transformed into a seaside art gallery as the works of sculpture are spread across the cliff from Tamarama Beach to Bondi Beach. Over 100 sculptures are exhibited in the background of sea and the coastal landscape along the two kilometre coastal walk. Sculpture by the Sea at Bondi attracts an estimated annual attendance of 500,000 people each year to view the sculptures.

I hope I’ve been able to teach you a few things you didn’t know about Sydney and shown you what a desirable location it is for your next vacation! Send BMAC Down Under so I can get first hand experience at all of these places and learn all the ins and outs of being a Sydneysider to give all of you the best advice for visiting Sydney, Australia!

**Most of the writing in this blog is not my own and was taken directly from the websites that are hyperlinked in this post. I got the photographs from both Google images and the websites that are hyperlinked in this post. 

All The Right Koalafications

Lately the only thing that has been on my mind is Sydney, Australia and becoming the Chief Funster. I’ve been working endlessly to continue to engage and post fresh content in hopes that the contest judges will see what I’ve been working on and know why I would be the best person to be Chief Funster.

You can imagine my surprise when I opened up a fortune cookie today and found this…

It made my day 🙂 I have more than enough confidence in myself and hopefully Australia does too! I could find out any day now if I move on to the next round. I’ve been even more attached to my phone than usual. Every time it makes a noise, I’m anxious to look at it to see if it’s the lucky email I’m waiting for. I kind of feel like Charlie from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory when he gets the golden ticket. I keep wondering and dreaming about that happening to me and becoming Chief Funster. There is still hope and plenty of time to get one of those lucky emails. My fingers (and toes) are crossed and anxious to hear from the contest! In the meantime, keep checking back here for more posts in effort to Send BMAC Down Under!

BMAC on Social Media

Jon Malloy brings me back into the “studio” to interview me on social media. In this interview, I define social media, tell you why I love it (#obsessed), the benefits, how I use it personally, privacy and my professional experience using social media. It is my hope that after watching this movie you will see how much I love social media and how invested I am in it, which is why Australia can count on me to be the best Chief Funster for Sydney as the social media commentator.  Check it out!

How handsome is Jon Malloy in his bow tie?! #killinit

A huge thank you to Jon for interviewing me again! Curious to learn more about BMAC on social media? Check out my personal profiles:

Facebook 

Twitter

LinkedIn

Like what you see here? Show BMAC some social media love @BMAC_DownUnder!

#SendBMacDownUnder

Glamorous Ambition

You either have it or you don’t. I can’t teach it to you. You have to feel it deep down inside you. What am I talking about? Ambition.

Ambition is defined as “an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment”. It’s something that I know I have but I do not define myself by. Why say I’m “ambitious” when I could just show you?

How Do You Feel Ambition?

It all starts with a goal. When you hear or see something that you know you want, you can feel the excitement bubbling inside of you. As you think through how you’re going to your goal, the bubbling excitement turns into a roaring fire that is hard to contain. Once you know you want something and commit to earning it, there is nothing that stops this burning desire for your goal.

This is how I felt when I learned about the Chief Funster position for the best job in the world contest held by Tourism Australia. It’s easy to get excited about something you think you want for a short period of time, but the way you absolutely know you have to have something is when you can’t fall asleep at night because you’re thinking about it and when you wake up in the morning, it is the first thing on your mind. Sounds like love a little bit, doesn’t it? Well in that case, I’ll say it to the world, I’m in love with Australia and becoming the Chief Funster! But in all seriousness, I’ve never seen myself work so hard for something in my entire life and I’ve had my fair share of challenges til now.

When I was a freshman in high school, I signed up for ice hockey. I had always been a decent ice skater and enjoyed floor hockey, so I decided I wanted to play ice hockey. Bless my dear father for agreeing to wake up every Tuesday and Friday to take me to practice at 4am and my mother who shivered through every game. I started as a naïve freshman who just wanted a good workout and some competition in my life. I needed to work for something and hockey was the perfect combination and outlet for my needs. My experience wasn’t as perfect as it sounds. While on the team, I faced animosity from teammates and was even bullied. I began to resent hockey because of my teammates who were souring the experience for me. I wanted to quit so many times. I grew to despise some of the girls on my team. But then I thought, “what good would it do if I quit?” If I quit, they would win. Playing on a team where I was surrounded by insecure, “negative nancies” was no easy task, but they were insignificant. At the end of the day, I played ice hockey for myself. I played to make my family proud and help the winter go by a little quicker. I played to become a better skater and score a few goals. Playing ice hockey was no longer actually about playing ice hockey, it was learning to grow thicker skin and not let insignificant people stand in your way of reaching a higher goal. You know you’re ambitious when you feel you are at your lowest point and you still crave that end goal. I never gave up. I played varsity ice hockey all four years I was in high school and I had never been so proud of myself until I came to college and came across my next challenge and goal.

Playing ice hockey and overcoming animosity is only one example of my many experiences of focusing on an end result and not letting anything come in my way. I learned to not be bothered along the way by people who do not matter in the final equation. My best friend Irina taught me to not to be consumed by people who are irrelevant even though it is hard sometimes to not listen to the haters. When you want something whole-heartedly, you let absolutely no one stand in your way of achieving your goal. I could tell you I’m a hard worker, that I’m optimistic, begin every day with a smile and am self-motivated. I could tell you I’m a no limits kind of brainstomer with endless dreams, but what good is a dream? A dream is just a wish that is not acted upon. Well here I am, Australia, turning wishes into actions and giving it everything I’ve got to prove I would be the best Chief Funster. I’m not even sure if any of part of my Send BMAC Down Under campaign will even be considered in the judging process, but I knew I had to do it at even the slightest chance that I could grab your attention and “wow” you with everything I have done and give you a glimpse of everything I am capable of doing. I hope you consider moving me to the next round of becoming your Chief Funster!

“I never look back darling, it distracts from the now”

–Edna Mode (from the movie The Incredibles)

A Chat With BMAC

Hello my fantastic Send BMAC Down Under followers who have been keeping up with my campaign! I submitted my entry video in attempts of becoming Chief Funster for Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Now we sit and wait to hear back from the contest judges of whether I move forth in the competition or not. (fingers crossed I advance!!!) But fear ye not, Send BMAC Down Under is not over anytime soon!

Jon Malloy (my fellow friend and fan who made the “You Should Send BMAC Down Under” parody song for me) graciously interviewed me post entry video submission. In this interview you will learn more about my experience with the contest, my Send BMAC Down Under campaign, Australia in general, why I am qualified and would be the best fit for Chief Funster plus social media. The video is 18 minutes long, but I promise you it is worth watching. Everything said in this interview is valuable information that I wanted to share with all of you. I hope you enjoy it! Click below to sit in on A Chat With BMAC 🙂

Interested in learning more about Sydney, New South Wales and Australia? Check out these Facebook pages:

Destination New South Wales: https://www.facebook.com/destinationnsw?ref=stream

 Visit New South Wales: https://www.facebook.com/visitnsw?ref=stream

 Sydney, Australia: https://www.facebook.com/seesydney?ref=stream

   Australia: https://www.facebook.com/SeeAustralia?ref=stream

The Video You’ve All Been Waiting For

When my parents first told me about this contest, I immediately jumped on the computer to apply. When I learned about having to submit a 30 second entry video explaining why I am the best person for this job, my mind went racing in a million different directions. For the past month I have been coming up with different ideas for an entry video, but I couldn’t just pick one. Not to be cocky, but my first thought was “I wish I could have a video camera crew follow me around for a day and submit that” because I am confident that I am perfect for this position. I live and breathe social media. I love networking – there is no such thing as knowing too many people. If you haven’t already noticed from my previous videos and other media, I’m not exactly shy. I’ve had two social media internships at advertising/interactive communications agencies and have also done social media for my college for the past three years in the office of Undergraduate Admissions. I am the President of Marist Toastmasters (a private club of Toastmasters International) and am thiiiiis close to earning my Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM), which is the highest award in the Toastmasters International education program. This is only just a glimpse of my every day life, so how do I squeeze all that into 30 seconds? I’ll let you see for yourself!

I know what you’re thinking… “ok, BMAC, you submitted your entry video, but what happens next?” Well, between April 11th and April 23rd 25 lucky applicants will be notified that they have moved on to the next round of potentially becoming the new Chief Funster for Sydney, Australia. On April 24th, the entry videos of those 25 applicants will be posted on http://www.bestjobs.australia.com. They will then be judged by a panel of representatives from Tourism Australia as well as the relevant State and Territory Tourism Organizations and their representatives in international markets along with media partners in accordance with the criteria set out from April 24th and May 14th. These 25 applicants will be asked to carry out a challenge where each of them must find a high-profile referee to support why they should get the job and submit this directly to Tourism Australia. After that, 3 finalists will be selected and notified on May 15th to progress to the final round. The 3 finalists will be flown to Australia from June 15th- June 21st for a final interview.

Whoa. Is your heart beating as fast as mine?

The past month has been a whirlwind of excitement with preparing for my Send BMAC Down Under social media campaign and making and submitting my entry video. I haven’t been this happy in a long time! I have felt more like myself in this past week creating content for Send BMAC Down Under than I have my entire life (not to be cliche). The only thing that is better than acting upon my creativity and ideas while having the opportunity to network and collaborate with my talented friends is winning the position of Chief Funster!

I have done everything in my power to accurately represent who I am and what I am capable of doing if I were to become Chief Funster. It is no longer in my hands. The fate of the new Chief Funster now lies in the hands of the contest judges! I will continue to blog and post more content for the Send BMAC Down Under Campaign until I hear from the contest so stay tuned! I am in it to win it!!!

Contest information taken from: https://bestjobs.australia.com/TermsAndConditions.html

You Should Send BMAC Down Under

Shout out to Jon Malloy for making this song parody video for me to Send BMAC Down Under! He rocks! Check it out!

This video absolutely brightened up my day! Thank you everyone for all your love and support to Send BMAC Down Under!!! Especially YOU, Jon! 🙂

Something Australia And I Have In Common

There are countless reasons why I want to be the Chief Funster for Sydney in New South Wales, Australia and why I am confident that I am the best person for the job. This is why I am posting something new every day in attempts to portray and prove my personality, passion as well as professional qualifications to Tourism Australia [and all my followers and supporters].

Today’s post is about something interesting I found in my research about Australia that I wanted to share with you all. I’ve always been drawn to Australia and what I discovered in my research shed a little more light on this attraction. You see, Australia and I have something very big in common; we have the same motto.

One of my all time favorite quotes is from Walt Disney. He said, “We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” If you only remember three of these words, they should be “keep moving forward”. Life is too short to dwell on things you cannot change, which is why I keep the mindset of constantly moving forward. When you move forward, you open new doors to new opportunities that you didn’t even know were waiting for you. My curiosity pushes me forward. So I think ahead, expect the unexpected and advance, advance, advance.

How does this relate to Australia?

 

Let me present to you the Australian coat of arms. What intrigued me most was why the red kangaroo and emu were chosen as symbols for this prestigious representation of the country. What I learned was that neither the red kangaroo nor the emu can easily move backwards. The animals were chosen for the Australian coat of arms to symbolize a nation moving forward.

Australia and I both stand for the same thing. We share the same mind set. We keep moving forward to bigger and better things. We advance into success, whatever that turns out to be. I hope that you choose me, BMAC, to keep moving forward and take on the opportunity of a lifetime to be Chief Funster for New South Wales and advance Sydney to new opportunities and success!

Send BMAC To The REAL Down Under

Where’s BMAC trying to go? To the REAL down under! Watch the video below and send BMAC to the REAL down under!

Think BMAC deserves to be Chief Funster for Sydney, Australia? Holla at ya girl and pledge your allegiance on Twitter and Facebook!