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ISSUE 31 | OCTOBER 2014
OUR ALUMNAE
Kylie Price
VMC 1991 – 1996
Kylie says she is grateful she attended
Villa. “When I was 11 I was a real
tomboy and when my Dad told me I was
Villa-bound, I was mortified. I fought
pretty hard with him not to go to Villa
and how glad I am that he stuck to his
guns and made me go!”
Kylie says she can remember lots of
laughter with friends and throwing
herself into school life. “I remember
my teachers very fondly,” she says. “I
really feel that my teachers helped me
to become the person I am today, they
could see a diamond in the rough and
helped me a lot to realise the potential
that lay within.”
Kylie obtained a BSc majoring in Bio-
chemistry from the University of Otago
in 2000 and Master of Science in Cell
and Molecular Bioscience from Victoria
University in Wellington, New Zealand,
in 2003. Having completed her MSc, she
wanted to get work experience at New
Zealand’s leading biomedical research
centre, the Malaghan Institute of
Medical Research. Initially she joined the
Institute’s Multiple Sclerosis team before
the opportunity came up to take over the
Flow Cytometry facility in 2005. In 2012
she undertook a 6-month “technology
transfer sabbatical” in Spain, spending
time in some of the most advanced flow
cytometry facilities in Spain and Europe;
the Spanish National Cancer Research
Centre (CNIO) in Madrid and Barcelona’s
Biomedical Research Park (PRBB). She
continues to manage the Malaghan
Institute’s Cell Technology Suite, which
encompass flow cytometry, microscopy,
and immunohistochemistry. She has
been credited with pioneering the use
of multicolour flow cytometry within
New Zealand and enjoys using flow
cytometry for as wide a range of research
applications as possible.
Kylie says she wasn’t the brightest
person in her year: “there were plenty of
girls who got better grades than me,” she
comments. “I did win the Diligence award
just about every year! Which to me was
the school’s way of saying, we know
you’re not the brightest, but you certainly
try the hardest!!”
Kylie’s life motto is: “Perseverance
Prevails When All Else Fails.” Her advice
to young Villa girls is to take every
opportunity, even if you don’t think you’re
the perfect person for it. She says: “Be
brave, step up and try, don’t be afraid to
fail and remember that doubt kills more
dreams than failure ever will.”
Jane Tyler-Gordon (nee Dyhrberg)
VMC 1950 – 1957
Jane was instrumental in organising
the very successful reunion of the class
of 1954 this year. “Villa was a very
happy environment where we formed
friendships which have stood the test of
time as our recent reunion has proved,”
she says.
Jane cherished the country location of
Villa back in her day. “The boarders were
able to keep their ponies at school and
some girls even rode to school,” she says.
“There was the pet lamb, Labrador dog,
the orchard, gardens and all the old trees.
A huge thrill to us all was getting our own
swimming pool, which our parents had
worked very hard to have built. It opened
for my sixth form year in 1957.”
Other memories that remain vivid
for Jane are the English classes
where students took turns at reading
Shakespeare aloud, along with the French
lessons with Mother Mercedes and the
daily half hour singing lesson she took.
“There was no getting out of that,” Jane
recalls. She remembers her first Latin
class with Sister Leonie and copying
history notes from the blackboard
because there were no text books. “I also
remember the day I realised that Sister
Jerome/Pauline O’Regan had to wake
up at 4am to prepare our class work and
attend to her own University studies;
such a wonderful commitment.”
Upon leaving Villa, Jane worked for two
years in a Surveyors office and gained a
Cadetship with the Ministry of Works
where she trained as an Architectural
Draughtswoman, attending University
part time.
“When I left the M.O.W. I travelled to
England where I worked in architect’s
offices in both London and Leicester,”
Jane says. “I was married in Leicester,
England but returned to New Zealand
and lived in various places until I
was widowed at 36 and returned to
Christchurch. I had four children, one
daughter who attended Villa Maria.
When I retired I was working at
Canterbury University with the Disability
Department, setting up examinations for
students with special needs.”
Jane says that if she could tell current
Villa girls one thing, it would be to
embrace the opportunities that school
affords. “Make the most of your
education because life takes over once
you leave school and it will never be so
easy to learn. Get out of your comfort
zones and have a go at everything so
as to develop faith and confidence in
yourselves.”
