Education, success and a little bit of luck
Tuesday, 31 August 2004

Tyler Atkinson photo courtesy of Ganbina

Tyler Atkinson will be the first to tell you it takes more than luck to be successful but in his case good fortune seems to just follow Tyler where ever he goes.

It may seem insignificant to some but Tyler’s success story started when he was just a young lad at school. His mother Ros Atkinson always encouraged her sons to stay at school because she knew it would build a good foundation for a rewarding life and successful careers. In 2002, Tyler, a school house captain, graduated from Wanganui Park Secondary College with his Year 12 VCE and a he started work as Business Administration Trainee at Shepparton’s Telstra County Wide the next year.

Ganbina Koori Economic Employment Agency Chief Executive officer Adrian Appo said Tyler was one of few Indigenous youth to break a trend with almost 75 per cent of all Indigenous students in the Shepparton and Mooroopna region dropping out of school before Year 9. (SRICEDS – Dr Katrina Alford 2002)

“Good fortune has continued to shine on him,” Adrian said of Tyler who got his career break through Ganbina. “He has a drive to achieve and succeed and he has had a few bonuses the way.”

From the moment Tyler walked into an interview with Telstra Country Wide Northern Victoria Area General Manager Robert Bell and Shepparton Customer Service Officer Terry Mahoney he made a lasting impression.

Mr Mahoney said they were very confident with his ability to succeed in the business and that he displayed enthusiasm and dedication from the start. “Tyler is a very happy friendly person and he was a terrific asset to the business,” Mr Mahoney said. “While we’re sorry to see him leave we’re pleased to see him move on the company.”

After establishing himself at the Shepparton office Tyler moved on the bigger things and decided to further his career by relocating to Melbourne and working at the Telstra Mobile Centre. “quote to come

The move was more than Tyler expected when he got lucky and won $18 250 on the television game show Deal or No Deal in August. The turn of luck occurred after Tyler’s girlfriend Bree enticed him to enter for Channel 7’s nightly game show. He thought “it was a bit of rubbish”, but the weekend after he borrowed money from his mother to pay bond on his new house in Melbourne he won.

And his fortune didn’t stop there – he’s won a couple of work competitions too – “Something’s going on and I don’t know what it is, but its good”.

Mr Mahoney said Ganbina’s assistance with training the Shepparton staff about the Indigenous culture was a benefit to whole group to promote a comfortable and productive workplace for the team.