Lea Hicks, General Manager, Hix Group Pty Ltd

Lea Hicks, pictured with UWS Chancellor, Professor Peter Shergold AC

20 years ago, Lea, together with her husband, established a small two-person operation in Penrith. Since then the Hix Group has grown into a thriving enterprise that encompasses six business arms and employs more than 55 staff. At the University's International Women's Day celebrations in March this year, Lea was announced the 2012 Woman of the West, for her ongoing commitment to the local community by creating employment opportunities and supporting local industries.

Lea Hicks, pictured with Professor Clive Smallman, Dean of the UWS School of Business

A transcript of the Occasional Address, delivered by Lea Hicks:

"Thank you for having me here today to share in this very exciting ceremony.

Firstly may I recognize the very important people in the auditorium – yes we have dignitaries, yes we have the traditional owners of this land and yes we have those who have graduated before you …

BUT today is all about YOU – those who are being recognized for graduating today, having undertaken studies as a part of the Sydney Graduate School of Management ,of the University of Western Sydney .

In preparing to speak to you today, I have been thinking about the meaning of the word "business" and what it might mean to you as you go forward in your lives and careers.

I have also considered what "business" meant to me when I was somewhere within your age range (and I won't say how long ago that actually was...) and how that has changed as I have moved forward in my life.

Firstly with a career in Banking and Human Resource Management, then TAFE Teaching, moving into the business of running a home and family and, over the past 20 years, running a business with my husband which now employs over 50 people and turns over around $10 million per annum – but most importantly "does business" with others providing opportunities for all of us to pursue our careers and make a living for ourselves and our families.

I searched the Oxford Dictionary (online, not the heavy book that used to sit on my bookshelf) and it says a number of things about the word "business":

• One's usual occupation
• An activity that someone is engaged in
• Work that has to be done or that matters
• And a commercial activity

As you can imagine, all of these terms are quite general and can be interpreted in many ways. For some of you, your career may already have "taken off" and your studies have become an integral part of this.

For others, you may just be starting out and trying to work out where you want to be and to determine the relevance of all that you have studied over the past few years.

Ultimately, though you will all be "engaged in an activity… Undertaking your usual occupation, carrying out work that has to be done and that matters and will most likely be a commercial activity… hopefully which pays well!

Through my experience, upon starting my first job in Banking, I was told that my career would be long and exciting and that I would be able to undertake it with the Bank which I had joined at the time.

For me that was true, at the time, and I was fortunate to not only be able to learn and progress within a large corporation but also to undertake further studies to better my position and to learn more and more.

In fact, one of my roles was to manage the Graduate Development Program which saw many new graduates undertake fast track training at the conclusion of their full time studies.

Moving them around to experience many opportunities and then ultimately choose a path of most interest and suitability.

In today's world, however, much of our career progression is up to us and involves extensive mobility between a range of roles and quite often a variety of employers and sometimes very different fields. It may mean being employed by someone or being the owner of a business who employs others.

When my son was choosing his electives for Years 11 & 12 a couple of years ago, his Principal told his year group that by the time he and his friends had finished school there would be new careers that hadn't even been thought of at that time. Perhaps that is the case for you… when you were a small child had you even heard of a "Personal Trainer", a "Webapps Developer" or a "Sustainability Consultant"?

I guess what I am trying to say to you  is that your world is your oyster and that you can be anything you want to be. There are great opportunities for us to be involved in business ranging from small home based businesses developed from "scratch", to large corporates, perhaps international organisations spanning many countries and exposing us to many people around the world.

Whatever path you take, your education has been an integral part of forming the person that you are going to be and the achievements that you are going to make.

But it doesn't stop here!

You will continue to learn, every day of your life. And whilst you may be feeling a little relieved that your studies are finally over, I can guarantee that that will not be the case.

Not only will you continue to learn, simply by going out into the world of business and applying the things that you have learned within your studies here at UWS, but you will undertake training courses, attend seminars, participate in meetings and discussions and make some very important decisions which will influence the direction your career will take.

So, today is a very important part of recognizing the learning process that has begun for you're here at UWS.

Learning that you are now armed with some fantastic skills and experiences to make your mark on the world.

I ask that you spend some time today with your family and friends to recognize this great milestone in your life and the significance your studies will have upon your future.

I congratulate you all sincerely and trust that you will not only consider what you can achieve for yourself in the future… but what you are able to give back to your community as you move along your path to success.

Enjoy your day today and I look forward to hearing of your wonderful success stories in the future."

Photos: Sally Tsoutas