When Laura Clark reflects on her time at OneSchool Global (OSG), she doesn’t remember formulas or history essays as much as she remembers the skills that have stayed with her throughout her career: discipline, time management, organisation and self-motivation. Today, those same skills help her balance business ownership, family life and leading day-to-day operations at Zed Gifting, a corporate gifting company she now owns.
Laura attended OSG’s former Warrnambool campus before becoming one of the first students at the Mount Gambier campus, which later went on to merge with our Hamilton campus in 2020. Attending a smaller campus gave Laura the opportunity to further develop her skills in being a self-starter and an independent learner. Most of her senior classes were with teachers beyond her home campus, and her success relied on staying organised, managing her own schedule and taking ownership of her learning.
“It wasn’t just sitting there,” Laura recalls. “If I wanted to do well, I had to do the work.”
That self-directed approach became one of the greatest advantages she carried into the workforce.
After graduating from OneSchool Global, Laura went on to complete a Diploma in Accounting. From there, she joined a small business where she quickly gained hands-on experience across almost every area of the organisation – from dispatch and customer service to administration and operations. When the business was later acquired, Laura progressed into the role of National Customer Service Manager, a position she thoroughly enjoyed. Along the way, she also developed experience in marketing and sales, building a broad skillset that continues to benefit her today.
Today, Laura brings all of those experiences together as the owner of Zed Gifting, a business specialising in thoughtful corporate gifting experiences that help organisations strengthen relationships with employees and clients. Rather than simply selling gift hampers, Laura works closely with businesses to understand their brand, goals and recipients before designing meaningful gifting experiences that leave a lasting impression. Her role spans customer service, supplier management, logistics, administration and operations, with no two days looking the same. 
“I love sitting down with clients, understanding what they’re trying to achieve and then bringing all the pieces together,” Laura says.
“From sourcing products to coordinating suppliers and making sure everything arrives at the right place at the right time, it’s incredibly rewarding seeing it all come together.”
Looking back, Laura believes the biggest lessons she gained from OSG weren’t found in a textbook.
“School’s not just about maths and English,” she says. “The things that stay with you are the discipline, the time management, the planning and learning to show up and do the work. Those are the skills that stay with you for life.”
She credits OSG’s learning environment with helping her become comfortable managing competing priorities, staying accountable and working independently – qualities that have proven invaluable throughout her career and now as a business owner balancing work and family life.
Laura encourages current OSG students to recognise that every assignment and deadline is helping build habits that will extend far beyond school.
“You might not remember the exact equations you learnt,” she says, “but you’ll remember the discipline you built by showing up, managing your time and doing the work. Those life lessons will stand you in good stead forever.”
For Laura, success hasn’t come from following a single career path. Instead, it’s been about embracing opportunities, continuing to learn and applying the life-ready skills she developed during her time at OSG – skills that have helped her build a rewarding career and confidently navigate the many challenges and opportunities that life has presented along the way.
