Travis Strong

"You need to have a purpose to be the best version of yourself."

Over the past 50 years Yarra has inspired students to pursue their passions and interests. Yarra Old Grammarian, Travis Strong, joined the School in Year 11 and made lasting friendships and connections that endure today.
A key element of Travis’s ongoing connection to the School is White Owl - a men’s health awareness initiative he set up with other friends, including Jeremy Kruse and Michael Fung from the class of 1991 after the premature death from prostate cancer of a former classmate. Another friend Travis met through his love of football passed away from suicide, adding to Travis’s commitment to men’s health and White Owl.

“A solemn event has spawned a dynamic legacy for those two men and their families and White Owl has very strong connections back to Yarra,” he says.
After graduating, Travis studied town planning and project management and began his career with councils and in private practice. But, as mobile phones became more prevalent in Australia, he quickly switched to project managing the roll-out of new networks. This experience also took him to the UK for three years.

Since returning to Australia he has spent his working life in an engineering and professional services consultancy. He currently manages a team of around 500 people spread across the southern hemisphere to deliver consulting services to key clients.
“Success to me means having a purpose and having empathy. A lot of things are being taken over by digital innovation but the differentiator of people in the workplace, is the empathy they show,” he says.

“In school, I surrounded myself with people who had a positive influence on me. I still latch on to those people and I still remember the School motto, Levavi Oculos that was all about opportunities and considering the potential of other things.”