Every student leaves Mackay North State High School with a different story to tell.
Over the past few months, we've been sharing some of those stories — celebrating former students whose careers, passions and ambitions have taken them in many different directions since leaving our classrooms.
They include 2024 graduate Kristian Hutchins, who is studying chemical engineering in Western Australia; former student Brooke Naylor, who is now inspiring students of her own in the classroom; and 2008 graduate Alexis Zahner, who has published her first book.
Next up is Dean Guglielmino, who attended North High from Year 8 in 2000 through to Year 12 in 2004.
His strongest memories include Manual Arts, senior Chemistry with Mr Willis and, simply, “hanging out and having a laugh every day".
Today, Dean is an Electrical Supervisor at the Mackay Bulk Sugar Terminal — one of the world's largest bulk sugar terminals and a vital link between the region's sugar industry and international markets.
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But becoming an electrician was never part of the plan when he was sitting in a North High classroom.
In fact, he admits he had very little idea what he wanted to do.
“I thought engineering would be me; however, I wasn't sure," Dean said.
“I just knew I enjoyed science and understanding how things worked.
“I never thought of being an electrician because the thought of crawling through house ceilings sounded terrible, and that's all I thought the trade would involve."
After finishing school, Dean initially enrolled in Chemistry full-time but decided after one semester that he was ready to enter the workforce rather than continue studying on campus.
He moved into civil drafting while he worked out what he wanted to do next and began studying Engineering externally through the University of Southern Queensland.
About 18 months later, he left the desk behind and began an electrical apprenticeship building underground mining equipment while continuing his Electrical Engineering studies.
Once his four-year apprenticeship was complete, Dean began what would become almost 14 years of maintenance and project work on Ergon substation infrastructure across North Queensland.
Then, as he approached 38, his priorities shifted.
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Dean wanted less overtime, more nights at home and more time with his children while they were young.
That led him to his next chapter as Electrical Supervisor at the Mackay Bulk Sugar Terminal — a workplace he describes as a “mini Hay Point", with enough variety and technical challenges to keep him stimulated while giving him the family balance he was looking for.
It's a role that involves considerably more than electrical work.
Dean supervises tradespeople and oversees their safety, job planning and progress. His responsibilities also include rostering, leave, professional development, maintenance strategy, purchasing and decisions about operational and capital expenditure.
But he still gets opportunities to draw on the technical problem-solving skills he enjoyed earlier in his career.
“Assisting in the fault-finding of shiploader breakdowns under pressure scratches my itch to still experience the technical problem-solving aspects of the Ergon network duties I enjoyed in my old role," Dean said.
At the same time, becoming a supervisor has brought a different kind of reward.
“I find making an employee's day better by being a good leader a rewarding experience that is unique to this current role compared to other roles that I've had in the past."
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Looking back, Dean says the value of his high school Maths and Science classes extended well beyond the concepts he was learning at the time.
“My North High Maths and Science teachers taught me how to learn difficult concepts that laid the foundations for me to be able to learn anything I was interested in later in life," he said.
More importantly, they gave him the confidence and skills to tackle unfamiliar and challenging subjects throughout his career.
For North High students considering an apprenticeship or electrical career today, Dean has one misconception he would particularly like to clear up.
“I could not have been further from the truth when I assumed as a school kid that electricians spend most of their time crawling in ceilings," he said.
“In reality, industrial electricians tend to avoid working on anything hot, oily or heavy as a general rule compared to other trades, and it is a very well-paid, relatively clean and mentally stimulating trade!"
Dean's path after North High wasn't a straight one.
Chemistry became civil drafting. Engineering studies continued alongside an apprenticeship. Almost 14 years working on the electricity network eventually gave way to a leadership role at Mackay Harbour.
But throughout it all, one thing remained constant — the curiosity he had at school about science and understanding how things worked.
And perhaps that's the lesson in Dean's story for students who don't yet know exactly what they want to do after Year 12: you don't necessarily need the final destination mapped out before you start.