Losing her eyesight at the age of 22, has not stopped Majella from – well – anything! Symes Group met Majella at Westpac in 2016 delivering Symes Group's signature program Presenting with Impact. It was a remarkable experience for us as Majella’ s perception and ability to engage with the audience was extraordinary. An intuitive, warm and ambitious woman, Majella talked to Barbara Harvey.
BH: Tell me about yourself.
MK: I grew up on a rural property, 30 minutes north of Albury. My childhood was great, living on the land. However my health wasn’t. My teenage years saw me in and out of hospitals due to numerous autoimmune diseases, especially lupus which impacted on my kidneys. To boot, I am a type 1 diabetic, I have had a kidney transplant and I have had a heart attack (after which I was told I had two years to live) that was 16 years ago. Amidst all my health challenges at 22 I started to lose my eyesight, by 25 had completely lost all sight.
I am an IT project/release manager in the digital mobile space. In addition to my day role I get to work with numerous projects across business units for the Westpac Group about the importance of ensuring our products and services are more accessible for our customers.
BH: What do you like to do outside of work?
MK: As many of us know we spend lots of time inside at our desks or in meetings so when it comes to outside I want to get out and do stuff. Outside work my day includes visiting the gym five times a week, walking home from work two nights a week. Weekends include getting out and walking, cycling on my tandem catching up with friends, weekends away visiting family or heading a few hours out of Sydney just to get away from the busyness of Sydney.
BH: How important is physical fitness to you?
MK: Physical fitness is very important to me. Growing up on land in rural NSW, running around and riding horses on the property was what our weekends were filled with. After leaving my parents' property in my mid 20s I moved to Melbourne to attend university. Exercise became even more important for not only physical and mental well- being but an escape from the stresses of essay writing and exam studying. I feel like my day is missing something if I don’t exercise.
MENTAL TOUGHNESS
Majella Knobel is seriously tough. She joined friend and colleague Mike Ryan for the grueling 328km bike trail over three days starting in Panania to Bowral to Wollongong back to Sydney raising thousands of dollars for charity on the way.
Challenges ... accepted
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