After graduating with the Flinders Class of 2021, Anja Colombi returned to the UK to complete her tertiary studies at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
Now living in London as an analyst with Goldman Sachs, we asked Anja to join us for a Beyond Flinders Q&A. In this profile, she shares her favourite Flinders moments, the teachers who inspired and supported her, and the winding path she took to discover her passions and land her first full-time role.
Please share some of your major achievements and opportunities since graduation.
So many! After graduating I went on to study physics at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, which was the most amazing, unforgettable experience. My degree was a four-year course, and I graduated this year with a 2:1 in a BSc (Hons) Physics and achieved first-class marks on my dissertation.
Alongside this, I was able to continue studying music as part of my degree during the first two years and spent the last two years taking jazz piano lessons. I also continued to play netball, representing my university, and sat on the committee to support events and fundraising. We helped raise over £1,000 through various events, with my favourites being managing the production of a charity calendar for the OddBalls Foundation with other St Andrews’ sports societies and organising a Rugby Firsts vs Netball Firsts game for Movember.
Lastly, interning at Goldman Sachs in the summer of 2025 and now joining full time has been the most exciting step since I left Australia to study.
What was your favourite Flinders moment?
Some moments I still remember vividly are Music Camp, Year 11 Retreat, winning our netball league in Year 12, doing Legally Blonde as our musical in Year 12, as well as many hours spent rehearsing in the Wind Symphony on a Friday after school or the Chamber Choir before school. The last day of Year 12 classes, where we all came to school in our sports kit and had our Valedictory Dinner in the evening, was also incredibly special.
Do you have a particular role model or inspirational figure from Flinders or now?
There were quite a few pivotal members of the staff who left an impact on me following my time at Flinders. Annette Colwell, who taught me Specialist Maths, and Peter Horton, who taught me Physics, both believed in me and pushed me to the edges of my comfort zones in two subjects I found particularly challenging. Sheree Bell and Gary Davis were so kind, friendly and supportive, especially when I joined Flinders in 2020 at the beginning of Year 11, right before COVID-19 and after moving from the UK. And I cannot forget Julene Robertson, one of the most influential teachers I’ve ever had. Her loss is still felt. She recognised that I had an ability to compose music and gave me the confidence to pursue it. This is something that has stayed with me ever since and led me to continue my music studies alongside physics.
How easy was it to decide what to do in life?
Not easy at all! I was born in the UK and grew up there, so I always knew that I wanted to return to the UK to complete my tertiary studies, but narrowing down the field was hard. For the entirety of Year 12 I was adamant that I would study music and worked hard to keep my grades up while preparing for conservatoire auditions. I received an offer and a scholarship to study composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, but after graduating, I felt my path lay elsewhere. I declined the offer and decided to apply to study physics instead; it was a subject I enjoyed at school and recognised would keep my options open. I knew I could always continue with my passion for music along the way.
I went to university not knowing what I wanted to do after graduating. In my second year at St Andrews, most of my peers were applying for internships, knowing exactly what they wanted; I had no idea what field I wanted to work in, let alone how the process worked. I spent that summer break back in Australia working a part-time job at Woolworths, researching, speaking to people and doing skills courses to try to figure it out. Looking back on application season at the beginning of my third year (which coincided with the academically hardest year and semester of my degree), I applied with no real method or structure, but I gave it my best. It ended up a lot better than okay. Some of it was luck and good timing, but most of it was hard work paying off.
Did your further study or career go exactly as you planned?
Definitely not. In the first semester of my second year of university, I failed an exam for a core module required as part of my degree. At the time, I thought it was all over and that I was never going to finish my degree. It took a lot of hard work, a strong mental attitude and sacrifice, with many days and nights spent in the library, but I sat the exam again at the end of the year and was able to double my initial grade.
I entered university with barely an idea as to what I would do upon graduating. The past four years saw many challenging times, including the aforementioned fail, many late nights spent in the library, facing imposter syndrome, missing family and friends in Australia. Unfortunately, I also tore my ACL playing netball and had surgery to repair it mid-semester of that very challenging third year. Despite these being some of the hardest times, they were the most character building, brought me closer to my friends and led me on the path I am now. And for every hard time I had at university, there were 10 times as many good ones—I wouldn’t change a thing!
What advice do you have for current students?
Make the most of this time: Try as many things as you want to throughout high school, regardless of what other people may say or think. It sounds ridiculous but throughout my time at Flinders I tried to remain engaged with as much as I could—music, sport, subjects I wasn’t sure I would be good at—and it’s those experiences, not just my grades, that shaped who I am and where I ended up.
One bad grade doesn’t make a bad overall result: I failed one of my Year 12 mock exams and thought there would be no way to make a comeback. I sat the real exam and did far better than the mock could ever have suggested. A single result isn’t a final verdict on how you’re doing overall or on what comes next.
Don’t be afraid to be different: If going to university is where you want to head, choose what you study because you enjoy it, not just because it has a streamlined path to a career afterwards. And don’t be afraid to want to study somewhere different from your friends. There’s a big world out there to be explored, and starting university is your first opportunity to build a life that’s yours, so take it!
