In this week’s WITWAT (Where In The World Are They?) interview, Paul Galea talks to Don Simpson from the Class of 2004, Niamh Galea (2013) and Jialin Peng (2019) and discovers they have taken a range of paths and are living in diverse locations since leaving School.
Dom Simpson (Class of 2004) Touring Europe
Since leaving IGS I attended AIM High for Years 11 and 12 where I completed a Cert 3 in Guitar alongside finishing high school. I then stayed at AIM for uni to do a Bachelor of Music degree on Drums. Shortly after leaving uni I started trying to build a career as a drummer playing in my band Darker Half with my brother and fellow IGS alum Steve Simpson. Along side the band I began doing cover gigs, weddings and side man jobs to bring in some money.
Artists I’ve played for include Paul Dianno and Blaze Bayley from Iron Maiden and Tim Ripper Owens from Judas Priest. Teaching is also a big part of my life. I teach drums to 30+ private students each week. I just finished building a new studio dubbed Elephant Music in Marrickville where I will be running my teaching business and recording session drum tracks for clients. I’m currently in Europe on the fifth Darker Half European tour.
Niamh Galea (Class of 2013) Chinatown, Sydney
I left IGS in 2013 and did a Fashion Degree at UTS. Following my Honours Year, I won a scholarship to do my Masters in Fashion Design in NYC at Parsons in 2019. That was a great experience that was most unfortunately interrupted by COVID. In what was a quite scary time, I managed to get home to Sydney and was not happy. To pass the long hours at home and to keep my creative spirit alive, I started to make some of my own designs. I was dyeing, bleaching and screen printing in mum and dad’s backyard, then sewing together my pieces… then I started my brand, Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp (RTTS) and began selling online. My clothes are size and gender fluid. Things went well and I have just kept expanding. RTTS gear now is on sale in shops in Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo, Seoul, New York, Paris, LA, Shanghai, Mexico City, Auckland, Madrid, London and in my store in Chinatown as well as online. In my small fashion store in Chinatown, I sell my label and the work of independent designers, including a couple of IGS alums!
Just this week my clothes were featured being worn by Cat and Calmell on a billboard in Times Square, New York. That was cool! I am excited to be working on a top secret project right now which will be launching in early November.
Jialin Peng (Class of 2019) Columbia University, NYC.
I have been busy with orientation events at Columbia!
Since my departure from IGS, life has unfurled an exhilarating narrative that brought me to the esteemed institution of Columbia University. During my undergraduate studies, my curiosity led me to the intricate world of FinTech. I gained essential insights into finance and artificial intelligence at the University of Sydney and practically applied them during my internship at Deloitte.
The decision to embark on a Master’s Degree at Columbia University was profoundly influenced by its celebrated eminence in the fields of finance and economics. Columbia’s vibrant and diverse academic community evoked memories of the inclusive atmosphere I cherished at IGS. My time at Columbia has been a tapestry of intellectual rewards, intertwined with the thrilling experiences that New York City has to offer. Ahead, I eagerly anticipate an exciting interdisciplinary entrepreneurial project at the intersection of finance and AI.
Thank you Dom, Niamh and Jialin for sharing your post-IGS journeys with us.