Where in the World Are They # 9

This week we meet Rachael Delaney (2016), Lenny Vadala (2002) and Andrea Abel van Es (1998)

In this week’s WITWAT (Where In The World Are They?) interview, Paul Galea talks to Rachael Delaney from the Class of 2016, Lenny Vadala (2002) and Andrea Abel van Es (1998) and discovers they have taken a range of paths and are living in diverse locations since leaving School.

Rachael Delaney (2013) – Nymboida, Australia

A woman with long brown hair smiles outdoors, putting her arms round two dogs—one black and tan, the other mostly black—against green grass, trees, and a cloudy sky. Can you guess Where in the World this scene is from? Perfect for any geography quiz!.

Since graduating from IGS, I moved to Byron Bay to learn to farm. During my 8 years there, I spent my time at different farms including market gardens, permaculture and agroforestry educational spaces, flower farms, as well as working with livestock, poultry and horses.

Three people at a gathering: one with red hair and black clothes, one in white with a flower headband smiling, and one in a pink costume with a plush animal hood. It looks like the perfect setting for a fun geography game or travel quiz night.

I also learned many practical skills in my time there and with help from another IGS alum, Dan Herbert, we built a house truck which I lived in on a farm for two and a half years.

A collage of four images shows a rustic tiny house in the woods, its cosy interior with books and art supplies, lush greenery outside, and a woman in a green dress leading a brown horse—perfect for your next Where in the World geography game.

I now have my own slice of paradise farm in Nymboida, 45km south west of Grafton on 240 acres where I have set up my little house truck permanently to run farm stays from. Here, I have built my own market garden from which I sell produce, eggs and ferments at three local farmers’ markets. I also raise sheep, cattle, chooks for meat and milk my beautiful house cows for milk and for making cheese and yogurt. I also have five sweet horses with a foal on the way. Two of my horses are Australian brumbies which I have trained from the wild and am currently starting under saddle. I hope to run trail riding here in the future to contribute to Nymboida’s attractions for visitors, who already camp next door at the canoe centre where they do extended guided canoe trips.

A person stands in a green pasture stroking a brown and white horse, with a forested hill and blue sky behind—can you guess the spot? It’s like a geography quiz or location game brought to life.

A person wearing a white cap and shirt tends to rows of green leafy vegetables in a garden or small farm, surrounded by trees and greenery—almost like a scene from a geography game or travel quiz.

Lenny Vadala (2002) – Sydney, Seoul, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore

A smiling family of four poses for a selfie at the beach, waves and sand behind them, enjoying their day after playing a fun geography game called Where in the World. The two young boys stand between a man in glasses and a woman with long hair.

After leaving school I ended up working in Human Resources. I’m now a partner at EY (Ernst & Young) in the Managed Services business. Basically it is helping clients outsource their back-office function (accounting, payroll and tax). I am in the middle of doing an MBA with UNSW and spend a lot of time travelling overseas for work, mainly to Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul and Kuala Lumpur to help with those aspects for various businesses over there.

Five young men sit and stand in a classroom, dressed in school uniforms or casual clothes, surrounded by drawings and papers as they play a geography quiz game inspired by "Where in the World".

I head up teams of local workers in these places, which is great as I get an insight into the life, personalities and work practices of people living in those countries.

A large group of professionally dressed people poses and smiles together in an office setting with grey carpet, white walls, and a yellow square panel—perfect for a fun geography quiz or "Where in the World" location game.

Interestingly, our teams’ brilliant technology innovations (like generative AI and predictive analytics) in these areas are very much appreciated by these companies, who are often held back by either a lack of automation or traditional customs and practises. In Korea and Japan, for instance, my teams and I do a lot of work trying to highlight gender pay disparity within organisations.

Outside of work, I have my lovely wife Romina, who is a teacher and we have two young boys. I’m hoping to send them to IGS in the near future!

Two men sit at a table in a restaurant, smiling at the camera. The table is covered with Korean food and drinks, setting the scene for fun travel trivia or a lively "Where in the World" geography quiz amid a city view outside the window.

Andrea Abel van Es (1998) – Costa Rica

Two young children play on sandy ground near a large camping tent, set against hills and desert dunes. This scene could be featured in a geography quiz—can you guess where in the world this adventure is happening?.

I attended IGS from Preschool to end of Year 10 and had some amazing teachers along the way – Masumi sensei, Tom sensei, Ms Hammond, Mr Miller to name a few.

After graduating from North Sydney Girls’ in 2000 I spent the next decade, literally, collecting degrees, including Bachelors in Aerospace Engineering, Commerce and a Masters in Mechatronic Engineering research at Sydney Uni. But definitely the cherry on the cake was the full scholarship I got to do my PhD in Political Science at Stanford University in the US, where I met my now husband, Rob.

Since 2011, I’ve been working as a freelance peace and conflict research consultant for orgs such as the UN, USAID, OECD as well as think tanks like Australia’s very own Institute for Economics and Peace. My passion is and always has been sub-Saharan Africa (I’m a little OCD about this region), where most of my work and leisure travels take me.

I’m a proud mother of two crazy beautiful boys (Jasper – 8 and Nikalai – 6), and bonus mum to Lucas -19. My guiding star in parenting and all things life really were my two amazing parents (both deceased now), who tried to instill in me the idea of global citizenship. Through extensive travel with my kids (they’ve been to over 35 countries so far), and encouraging multilingualism (they speak five languages fluently), I’m hoping to help them understand that we are one as humanity.

We’re currently living in Costa Rica, but have our beautiful home in Manly beach, and spend the summers in Europe with family, friends and all the amazingness that comes with Eurosummer.