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43 Queen Margaret Calling :: ISSUE 62 :: October 2018 An Old Girl who made headlines around the world while still at school has gone on to make sure she sees it all. Brittany Trilford spoke at the opening of Rio+20 Earth Summit as a Year 13 Queen Margaret College student in 2012. She is now studying a Masters of Urban Planning at TU Delft in The Netherlands. Brittany studied at QMC from 2006–2012, Year 7–13. She came to the College to study the International Baccalaureate. Brittany was House Prefect of Glamis in 2012 and says she has many happy memories from her time at QMC. “I remember times like walking out of the IB exams feeling content after studying like crazy for months, everything about Ms Carsten’s biology class, the final moment of presenting all our art work fromMs Pavelich’s art class to the school and the ‘Today in History’ fromMr. du Plessis whose history class offered such meaningful topics,” she says. After finishing college Brittany received a scholarship to NewYork University Abu Dhabi. “I cannot describe how life-changing this experience was for me; I met so many inspiring and diverse people and visited over 30 countries. I learnt different languages and about other cultures, religions, theories, policies, cuisines, opinions and methodologies,” she says. “I’ve since lived in Cape Town, Paris, Singapore, Copenhagen, Prague and now Delft. It all started at QMC.” AROUND THE WORLD Despite the opportunities travelling has brought her, Brittany’s biggest challenge has been being away from New Zealand. “It means I am far frommy family. Of course, there are plenty of Skype calls but the time zones are not so easy.” Brittany’s advice for current QMC students is to“be active and follow your curiosities”. “Letting your mind wander sometimes is healthy and productive. I think this is where our best ideas take shape. I most definitely should have been doing homework when I was searching the internet for university scholarships abroad in Year 13. I distinctly remember my Theory of Knowledge essay staring dead at me when I wrote my speech for the Rio+20 Earth Summit to present to world leaders. “To be a QMC woman brings a sense of obligation to learn more, to lead, or sometimes to just step back, to listen, to act, to share. It is a real privilege to have attended such a school.” FOLLOWING CURIOSITIES BRITTANY TRILFORD OUR COMMUNITY OLD GIRLS