Staff Profile – Scott Lascelles
What do you do, what department/school/institute and where are you located?
I work as Project Officer (Communications) for Research for Educational Impact (or REDI) – Deakin University’s Strategic Research Centre (SRC) in education. I help support our academic members with things like organising and promoting seminars and events, tidying up Find a Researcher profiles and publication entries in Elements, as well as try to increase REDI’s profile more broadly. You can find me in Building N 3.03 at the Burwood Campus.
When did you start at Deakin University and what was the role?
I started working at Deakin University in more or less the same position with REDI casually in September 2016; prior to that I worked in the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Business and Economics for 12.5 years.
Where did you study?
I studied at La Trobe University’s Albury/Wodonga campus, where I majored in Business (Hospitality) Management. It was a small campus consisting of only 2 buildings at the time, and we had cows outside our window during lectures. I believe things have changed slightly since then!
Three favourite films?
Stardust –Stardust is one of those quirky films you’ve probably never heard of but which I never get sick of watching. It’s a fantasy which tells the story of Tristan who ventures from the ordinary English town of Wall to the neighbouring kingdom of Stormhold to find a fallen star to impress a girl. It has a great cast (Claire Danes, Sienna Miller, Rupert Everett, Ricky Gervais, Henry Cavill, Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, David Walliams and Peter O’Toole, with narration by Ian McKellen) and is based on the book by Neil Gaiman. I love Neil Gaiman’s books (Anansi Boys is another favourite) and the way he weaves the otherworldly into the everyday. His stories translate really well on screen (American Gods is currently screening on Amazon Prime – check it out!).
Labyrinth – As a child who grew up in the ‘80’s how could I not mention Labyrinth? David Bowie singing with puppets? What’s not to love?! I’m looking forward to the remake, which was confirmed earlier this year, and which I hope will stay true to the original, as it will be produced by Lisa Henson of the Jim Henson Company. Similarly I loved the Dark Crystal, another Henson creation, and am also looking forward to the prequel (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance) which is being released on Netflix as a 10 part series sometime in the next few years.
About Time – If you haven’t seen this movie, please make some time to (pun intended). While the premise sounds completely corny (“When Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) turns 21, his father (Bill Nighy) tells him a secret: The men in their family can travel through time. Although he can’t change history, Tim resolves to improve his life by getting a girlfriend.”) it’s actually an incredibly beautiful film about love, life and making every moment count.
Where did you go on recent holidays or best holiday?
I travelled to Europe in 2014 for the sole purpose of going to Eurovision in Copenhagen. I loved it! And I’m not even a fan (I went with my best friend who is a Eurovision tragic). We draped ourselves in more Australian flags than a bogan at the Big Day Out on Australia Day and went to each of the semi-finals as well as the grand-final, where we saw Conchita Wurst from Austria win. I was surprised with how many Aussies were there, as I think were a few confused Europeans, who gave us the side-eye and whispered (not very quietly) “Australia isn’t even IN Europe!!!”.
We were invited to the Australian Ambassador to Denmark, Norway and Iceland’s home for the official welcome to Denmark for Jessica Mauboy, who performed at the second semi-final the night before. She kept everyone waiting for about two hours (because she was so hungover!), but she was lovely and gracious and very friendly.
After Denmark we went to Sweden, and then Norway to visit a friend of mine for 17 Mai (Norwegian national day), and I did a solo trip to Iceland which instantly replaced Cambodia as my favourite country. The midnight sun is somewhat disorienting, but I’d love to go back in winter to see the northern lights.
Do you have any pets?
Yes … but no. I recently bought 2 Burmese kittens from a breeder in Queensland, and I’m waiting until they reach 16 weeks of age before they’re old enough to leave their mum and get on their first flight to come and meet me. I have a chocolate girl and a blue boy, both siblings from the same litter, so that they can keep each other company while I’m at work. I’m currently trying to think of names for them both, so if you have any suggestions let me know.