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Smita Deshpande
Smita’s journey is a great example of how stepping into a supportive environment, embracing new challenges and building practical experience can lead to exciting new opportunities.
Read moreVolunteer stories
Meet our Bright Sparks. They build real Salesforce experience by helping Australian charities, and many go on to land new roles.
All volunteer stories
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Smita Deshpande
Smita’s journey is a great example of how stepping into a supportive environment, embracing new challenges and building practical experience can lead...
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Padma Subramaniam
For Padma, getting back into the workforce was about more than refreshing her skills — it was about rebuilding confidence, finding her...
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Priya Marimuthu
Despite having a Bachelor of Engineering & Computer Science, and over 10 years I.T. experience in mobile and digital banking, Priya joined...
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Priyanka Verma
Priyanka arrived in Australia with degrees in Philosophy and Law from Delhi University and a passion for learning. After being introduced to...
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Manasa Korkanti
We are delighted to announce that Manasa Korkanti, one of our dedicated volunteers, has landed her first Salesforce role as a Business...
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Raji Kolla
From Administrator to Analyst — Raji’s Trailblazing Journey We’re thrilled to celebrate the incredible success of one of our brilliant Blaze Your...
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Preeti Kumar
After an 18-year career break to raise her family, Preeti Kumar has re-entered the workforce with purpose.
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Ratnamala Mansani
Ratnamala Mansani graduated from Osmania University in 2012 with a Master’s degree in Biochemistry. Ratnamala started her career in Salesforce as an...
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Arvinder Saluja
Arvinder Saluja graduated from Delhi University in 1989 with a Bachelor's degree in Arts. After 15 years in healthcare in the USA,...
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Naphtali John
Naphtali John has a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi. Naphtali also ran his own business delivering gas...
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Veronica Aides
Veronica Aides graduated from CAECE in 2000 with a Bachelor's degree in IT. Veronica started her career as an Oracle Consultant, then...
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Gowthami Selvam
Gowthami Selvam is a dynamic Salesforce professional with a strong foundation in business and technology. She holds a Master's Degree in Commerce...
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Padmaja Mugundhu Baskaran
Padmaja Mugundhu Baskaran is a dynamic and motivated 3x Certified Salesforce Professional, blending her technical expertise with a passion for problem-solving. With...
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Serena Chen
Serena Chen graduated from Massey University in 2022 with a Bachelor's degree in Animal Science. After working as a support worker at...
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Mariyathu Nisha Aliyar
This is Mariyathu Nisha Aliyar. She graduated from National Engineering College, Kovilpatti, Tamilnadu, India, in 2011 with a Bachelor's degree in Electronics...
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Lakshmi Prabha RS
This is lakshmi prabha subramanian. Lakshmi has a Masters in Computer Applications, but after marrying and moving to Australia in 2018, she...
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Vrutika Patel
This is Vrutika Patel, a graduate with Bachelors in Commerce from Pune University, India. Vrutika started on her professional journey with experiences...
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G. Ben Fred
G. Ben Fred pursued a master’s degree in theatre arts from Switzerland’s Accademia Dimitri, and cherishes a deep passion for the arts, having...
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Rajitha Manthapuri
Meet Rajitha Manthapuri, a Salesforce Trailblazer and the first in her family to pursue higher education, graduating from Osmania University in 2012 with a Masters...
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Vasavi SF
Vasavi was the first in her family to attend university. She graduated in 2011 from Jawaharlal Nehru Technology and University with a...
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Neelima Srungarapu
This is Neelima Srungarapu, a 2007 graduate from MVGR College of Engineering. She and her husband arrived arrived in Australia in 2013 with...
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Lavanya Garimella
Lavanya Garimella, a 2004 graduate from the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology, worked as a functional consultant for SAP before taking time...
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Muhammad Zamil Shafique
Muhammad Zamil Shafique, is a 2022 graduate from Victorian Institute of Technology (VIT). Proficient in Python, Java, HTML, and CSS, he completed...
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Gayathri Srinivasan
Gayathri Srinivasan graduated from Tagore Engineering College in 2014. She worked as a Siebel Admin in two projects, and then at Accenture....
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Yogita Rathod
Yogita Rathod gained her Master's degree in IT from North Maharashtra University in 2008. When Yogita joined Blaze Your Trail in March...
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Gayatri Dara
Gayatri Dara, the first in her family to attend university, earned a Masters in Computer Applications from St. Martin's Engineering College in...
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Christine Chibvongodze
Christine Chibvongodze achieved a Bachelor's degree in Development Studies from the University of South Africa in 2022. Post-graduation, she gained a Salesforce Scholarship where she...
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Divyasree Vadivelu
Divyasree Vadivelu holds an MBA in Human Resource Management from University of Madras, Chennai India (2012). Since graduating she has been busy actively volunteering at...
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Mounica Sai Kolagani
Mounica Sai Kolagani has a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Communication from Shri Vishnu Engineering College For Women (JNT University).After graduation...
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Kanchana Karvannan
Congratulations to Kanchana Karvannan who started a new role as a Fundraising Assistant at Bayley House this week! Kanchana has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and it...
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Rama Devarajan
This is Rama Devarajan. Upon her graduation from University in India Rama worked as a Programmer Trainee, before moving to the USA. Visa...
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Ugen Kumari
This is Ugen Kumari, a graduate of La Trobe University with a Master of Engineering Management. Ugen is proud to be the...
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John Olukunle Ajayi
John Olukunle Ajayi graduated from the National Open University of Nigeria with a degree in Business Administration. He was the first person in...
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Sheeba Baig
Sheeba Baig, is a graduate from Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada in Public Health. When she Blaze Your Trail in December 2022, Sheeba had 115...
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Manasa Nagendra
Manasa M Nagendra, a graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Vishveshwara Technology University (2020), started her professional journey as...
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Mrudula Vaddem
Mrudula Vaddem, a graduate of Staffordshire University, holds a Master's degree in Computer Science. After Uni, she joined Amazon as an...
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Pallavi Dashpute
Pallavi Dashpute, an alumna of Pune University in India, completed her Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Information Technology in 2007....
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Carol Eve Saint-Amour
Carol Eve Saint-Amour defines herself as an Admin and Artist. She is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, with a Bachelor's degree...
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Eunice Leticia Naamala
Eunice Leticia Naamala graduated from Uganda Martyrs University in 2018 with a Bachelor's degree in Financial Mathematics. Eunice started volunteering at Blaze Your Trail...
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Selvazhaki Govindarasu
Selvazhaki Govindarasu is a true inspiration for anyone looking to make a positive impact on the world while also pursuing their career...
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Jayashree Bodhe
Jayashree Bodhe has a Bachelors in Technology and an MBA from the Institute Of Industrial & Computer Management & Research. After graduation...
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John Tsang
John's educational journey began at Northumbria University, where he pursued a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Management. In 2018, he proudly graduated, equipping...
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Madhuparna Das Paul
Madhuparna Das Paul graduated from Tripura University in 2002 with a Bachelor's degree in Science, Math & Education. Madhuparna has worked in...
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Swetha Ganga
Swetha Ganga embarked on her educational journey at the Federation University of Australia, where she pursued her passion for Information Systems. In...
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Jennifer Ndlovu
Meet Jennifer Ndlovu - one of the seven Blaze Your Trail volunteers to win a job in the last month.Jennifer Ndlovu graduated from National University of Science...
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Soumya Sasidharan
Soumya Sasidharan studied Electronics and Communication Engineering at Mahatma Gandhi Public University in Kottayam, India, graduating in 2012. After moving to...
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George Thalappillil John
George TJ graduated from Cochin University of Science and Technology in 2005 with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Engineering...
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Arthur Backouche
Arthur Backouche is a 26 years old Salesforce Consultant. He is currently working for Skie Solutions in Sydney, Australia.Arthur graduated from Epitech - European Institute of Technology...
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Dona Thomas
Dona Thomas graduated from DJ Academy in 2010 with a Masters Degree degree in Business Administration (Marketing and HR).Soon after graduating Dona...
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Navaneetha Repaka
Navaneetha Repaka's husband Sudheer volunteered with Paula Nunez and me at St Kilda Mums back in 2017, so she knew all about how...
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Akhila Kaladharan
Akhila's educational journey began at Anna University in Chennai, India, where she pursued a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science. In 2013, she...
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Chandini Mohammed
Chandini Mohammed graduated from Conestoga College in 2022 with a Masters Degree degree in Information Technology and Business Analysis. Chandini worked for...
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Ricardo Torres
Ricardo Torres, MBA lives in Florida now, but he was born in Brazil. He moved to the USA to study for...
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Ramya Bakthavatchalam
Ramya Bakthavatchalam graduated from Pondicherry University in 2010 with a Master’s degree in Computer Applications She worked as a IT Support Assistant...
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Suma Ayyappan
A combination of her engineering background, the Salesforce specific training, and the practical work experience at Blaze Your Trail meant that Suma...
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Lekshmi Midhun
Congratulations to Lekshmi Midhun who started working with Xero (beautiful accounting software) this month as an Associate Salesforce Engineer. With a strong desire to enter...
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Subasree Sridharan
Subasree Sridharan has a Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering. After graduating in 2009 she worked as a software engineer for...
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Edith Kemboi
Introducing Edith Kemboi - our very first Blaze Your Trail alumna from Kenya in Africa.
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Leanne White
Leanne White graduated from the University of the West of England in 2013 with a degree in Biological Sciences. She loves travelling...
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Madhu Kandegani
Madhu has contributed an incredible 240 hours of volunteering, racked up another 100 trailhead badges and recently passed her Salesforce Certified Platform...
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Sarika Kumari
Sarika moved to Australia after she married and spent almost 12 years out of the workforce.
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Anum Shahid
Every time I attended the morning meeting I was stepping into the future (quite literally as Australia is 12 hours ahead of...
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Varsha Waghmare
Varsha was working as an educator in an Early Learning centre. But she had her heart set on working in technology...
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Hima Alluri
Hima had worked in online orders for Woolworths Supermarkets for the past 8 years.
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Megan Douglas
The very week Megan updated her LinkedIn profile with her experience at Blaze Your Trail she started being contacted by recruiters and...
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Neha Bhatia
Neha’s three most important lessons to share with you are: Time management, to do with whatever it takes attitude, and to have...
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Abinaya Purusothaman
Abinaya dreamed of landing a job in the Salesforce ecosystem for greater flexibility.
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Anusha Shalunkey
Anusha volunteered on several different pro bono projects - including being a team leader for One Ball, and racked up an impressive 153...
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Nabeel Jaffery
Despite his degree in Computer Engineering and an MBA, Nabeel's starting salary in Australia was just above the minimum wage.
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Anusha Jayaram
Every morning Anusha dialled into our 6 - 8 am class (Melbourne time) which is 12:30 am in her hometown of Bengaluru, India.
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Sharmila Kumar
Sharmila estimates that she had applied for 70 IT jobs over the last year, and did not even make the short list.
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Purnima Chandrasekar
After moving to Australia in 2018, Purnima Chandrasekar had some time off to welcome her daughter and was out of the workforce for 3...
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Amardeep Kaur
In just three short months, Amardeep cleared her Salesforce Administrator certification and was offered a job as an Associate Consultant at Contrivers.
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Teja Aswini
Teja joined Blaze Your Trail in September 2021, with a goal of becoming a Salesforce Administrator within the next 3 years.
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Leena Machanpally
Leena had a 3-5 year goal of having a career in Salesforce as either a functional consultant or a developer.
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Pooja Agarwal
Pooja lives in Perth so joining Blaze Your Trail meant 4 am starts each morning.
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Shanthi Sankaranarayanan
After 10 plus years in recruitment, Shanthi needed to make a choice between Recruitment and Salesforce.
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Lakshmi Sistla
Lakshmi loves being a Salesforce Administrator, bridging the gap between business needs and technology.
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Senthil Kumar Shanmugam
Unemployed with no job prospects in Australia, Senthil made the difficult decision to move back to Singapore for a project.
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Mehak Sablok
Mehak worked in research and analysis using Artificial Intelligence, but when she came to Australia she could not find work in her...
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Rajat and Ekta
Introducing Rajat Mahalawet and Ekta Singh. They moved from India to Australia in 2016 after getting married. Rajat has an engineering degree in Electronics...
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Deepa Subbian
This is Deepa Subbian. Deepa completed her Masters in Computer Applications at India’s Bharathiar University, graduating in 2009. She then worked for...
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Remy Lewis
After a 20-plus year career working for the Victorian Government, Remy Lewis was determined to land a job in the Salesforce ecosystem. He joined Blaze...
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Prabhavathy Rajendran
Prabha had Admin and App Builder certs and Trailhead by Salesforce Ranger Status, but she could not get a job in Australia as she had...
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Sneh Shrivastava
Sneh Shrivastava graduated from India’s Rangiv Ghandi Technical University in 2006 with a degree in Engineering - Computer Science. She then worked...
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Kamal Hunjan
Kamal Hunjan graduated with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science & Engineering in 2003. After graduation, she worked as a Computer Science Lecturer for...
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Deepa Subbian
This is Deepa Subbian. Deepa completed her Master’s in Computer Applications at Bharathiar University, in India, graduating in 2009 and worked...
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Vishnu Priya
This is the story of my journey with Blaze Your Trail, which helped me secure a job in the Salesforce ecosystem. I...
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Jessica Macpherson OAM
Jessica is best known as the founder and first CEO of St Kilda Mums, Geelong Mums and Eureka Mums, a much-loved organisation...
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Impact, in their words.
Hear from volunteers who’ve built real Salesforce experience with us.
Volunteering with Blaze Your Trail has been a highly rewarding experience that has helped me grow both personally and professionally. The training and learning opportunities provided were well-structured, practical, and empowering, giving me a clear understanding of the organisation’s mission and the impact of our work. I particularly valued the hands-on experience, which allowed me to build confidence while contributing meaningfully.
My time volunteering with Blaze Your Trail has been an incredibly rewarding learning experience. I learned so many new things and gained valuable hands-on experience through the pro bono projects, which helped me build both my confidence and practical skills.
My time volunteering with Blaze Your Trail was a very valuable learning experience. The training was clear, practical, and hands-on, which helped me quickly understand how to apply Salesforce in a real working environment. I appreciated the structured guidance as well as the freedom to learn by doing, which gave me confidence in building better solutions and understanding system processes.
