Fenella Wagener is a Producer on the Today Show on Channel Nine, which is good going for someone who only finished school six years ago.
She always hoped that she would end up where she is now, but during a Bachelor of Journalism at Monash University, dared only to focus on small steps in the right direction. This has clearly been a sage approach with the small steps leading to her dream job at only 23 years of age.
When Fenella first finished school, a job at Girton allowed her to obtain Youth Allowance so that she could go to University.
It wasn’t long before she bid farewell to her place of education and employment to take on a full time one-month internship in her second year at University, at the Herald Sun as a journalist. In that time she had around 40 articles published in the paper and online.
With seamless transitions becoming a speciality, the day she finished her internship, Fenella was offered a job at Fox FM and Triple M radio in events, where she continued to work until she finished her degree.
Ready to take a bigger step, at the end of her degree Fenella moved to Sydney to be a news editor at Microsoft. Fruitful as this was, an offer to come back to Melbourne to work at 3AW Radio was too tempting and once back in Victoria, doors opened again, this time, to her current dream job producing the Today Show on Channel Nine.
Fenella says that some of her fondest school memories are of her teachers, who influenced her and supported her in a range of ways.
“Winsome Wastell was like a second mum to me.
“I started school at Girton as a pretty terrible reader and now I’m a journalist and I owe some of the passion that I now have for English language to Winsome. She’s an incredible woman and I’m so lucky to have her in my life,” she said.
Fenella says she went through a difficult period at one stage at school and if it had not been for the kindness and support of Cate Brewin, she is not sure how she would have coped.
“Mrs Brewin would bring me a packed lunch every day. Without doubt, she is an angel and I’ll never ever forget that.
“Lynden Francis-Wright and Rosemary Glaisher also need special mention for the positive influence that they had on me,” Fenella said.
Fenella tries to fit her love for music and travel into her busy schedule as often as possible and recently travelled to LA and New York. She usually has a music project ticking away in the background and hopes to be back in the recording studio soon to finish off her second album.
On a personal front and in a fortunate turn of events, Fenella has recently been united with her biological father.
“Three days before my VCE English exam, a friend called to tell me that she thought she may have found my biological father.
“After pacing around the house in shock for a few hours I received a confirmation call to say that she had indeed found my father.
“I now have a dad, a brother, a sister and two gorgeous nephews in my life, which is absolutely life changing after growing up in my little team of just mum and I,” she said.
