Barnabas Day – OV Lara Vafiadis

We were delighted to welcome OV Lara Vafiadis (Os 06-08) back to King’s on Tuesday 19 March 2024 as the newest member of the Barnabas Group.

Distinguished OVs who have excelled in their chosen profession are invited by the Headmaster to join The Barnabas Group and speak to the School in the Cathedral about their experiences, lessons learned, and the encouragement they feel able to pass on as a result. Founded in 2008, the group is named after St Barnabas, the “son of encouragement”, and builds on this theme for the benefit of future generations of pupils.

Lara holds the incredible accolade of being one of only 23 women ever to row any ocean solo, having successfully crossed the Atlantic, solo and unsupported, in 98 days, making land in March 2023. Lara had previously sailed the Atlantic, having gained her Yachtmaster Qualification at only 21, and felt rowing the 3,000 miles was the logical next step. In addition to her inspiring challenge while raising significant sums for charity, Lara is involved in the cyber security sector, and is a passionate advocate for Women in Tech, helping to foster diversity and inclusivity in STEM by speaking at corporate events, inspiring the next generation.

Lara joined King’s in the Sixth Form to study Art, History, and English Language & Literature for her A-levels. With a passion for Art ingrained and developed while at King’s, Lara went onwards to Art College. The fit with the Art College did not, however, work for Lara, so she focused on her first love, the ocean, gaining her Yachtmaster Qualification and enjoying a career on the waves, crewing for several years for a range of clients and boats.

The route Lara took into cyber security was, therefore, not a traditional one, but this was also the reason for her success: her life experience with guests, crew, and suppliers, while actively problem-solving often in difficult conditions, was the perfect requirement for a cyber company that, at the time, had little diversity in either gender or skillsets. Her career has gone from strength to strength since, providing a new perspective to bridge the gap between the programme developers and clients.

On Barnabas Day, Lara spoke eloquently to an enthralled School in the Cathedral. She took the opportunity to provide an essence of how she has failed but also how she has succeeded in her time since leaving King’s. The core advice Lara imparted was around five key points, inviting the pupils to take at least one of the points to heart to help them in some way in their life and future career:

Control the controllables. During her time rowing the Atlantic, Lara faced some significant weather, meaning her journey took considerably longer than originally planned and she ran out of food. This helped her to realise that the only thing you can control is you: how you feel, how you react to situations, how you cope.
Go all in. While Lara did not suggest everyone has to row an ocean, she did encourage pupils to “go all in” throughout life and take full advantage of every opportunity.
Don’t underestimate yourself. Lara admitted this was advice to which she did not listen for many years, but realised one can miss out on great things by thinking you can’t do it. For example, Lara explained how she is not an elite athlete, but brought her mental resilience and fortitude to cross the ocean alone.
Be curious. Lara reflected how the King’s School vision rings true throughout life. Ask questions to seek more, find opportunities, open doors, and continue to learn.
Be kind to yourself. Lara noted that caring for others is important, but there is a need to focus on yourself too, to be kind, and get a better understanding of who you are.

Lara inspired further in her conclusion, “I’m not saying to go and row an ocean, but we have our own ‘oceans’, things in which we want to succeed. There will, though, be tides, weather, injuries, things that push you off course, things that don’t go right, but if you go all in, ask questions, control the controllables, be kind, and most importantly don’t underestimate yourself, you will get there.” You can listen to Lara’s speech in full on the King’s Worcester YouTube channel here.

Following the assembly, Lara joined Hon OV Tom Sharp’s Lower Sixth History group in No 12 College Green, where the students took the opportunity to grill Lara on her rowing challenge and her career in cyber security. Lara explained her core motivation for the rowing challenge was her father, who sadly passed away just weeks before she launched, and the charities for whom she was raising money. They were interested to learn about Lara’s journey into cyber security and how her life skills brought a fresh perspective to the sector. Lara explained that combining a diversity of life experiences and skillsets is what makes her team great.

A walk around College Green included popping into College Hall. The goose bumps that Lara had felt walking into the Cathedral earlier in the day returned as she stepped into the “warm dust” familiarity of College Hall. The steps up to Edgar Tower brought back similar feelings, as Lara recalled her Art lessons in the historical building, particularly following a school trip to Stratford. A lovely conversation was had with Elizabeth Shepherd (Hon OV), whose classroom is in Edgar Tower, discussing Lara’s inspirations and her rowing challenge.

Moving on to Choir House, the English Block, Lara recalled her former English teacher, Sarah Le Marchand (Hon OV) with great fondness. Lara enjoyed her English A-level, although admitted she could have spent a bit more time on her coursework than she did! However, her curiosity and love for learning has grown and helped significantly with her career, as she now constantly seeks opportunities to learn all she can about the cyber security industry.

Heads of School, Jasmine S and George C-F, joined Deputy Head, Jon Ricketts (Hon OV), Head of Alumni and Business Development, Hannah Sparrey, and Lara for coffee and to present Lara with her Barnabas Shield in recognition of her time given to the School and being the newest member of the Barnabas Group. They all appreciated spending dedicated time with Lara to ask more about her experiences and the advice she had imparted during her assembly.

Following this, Lara visited the Art School, which had opened as Lara entered her final year at King’s. Almost a “home from home”, Lara was instantly transported back to a very happy place when she walked through the doors, and met up with Head of Art, Chris Haywood (Hon OV). Chris and Lara recalled many of those from Lara’s cohort, and former teachers, catching up on what they had been doing and who was still in contact with whom. Lara thoroughly enjoyed joining Chris on a walk around the building, seeing the incredible artwork created by the current pupils, especially the sculptures, which had been Lara’s specialism.

A trip to the Michael Baker Boathouse to meet with Head of Rowing, Jim Chalmers (Hon OV), was next. Here Lara recognised many of the names on the KSWBC walls and was very impressed with the boathouse and facilities, which had been built in the time since Lara was at school. Lara and Jim had a good chat about OVs Matt Bladen (W 08-15) and George Farmiloe (Br 08-15), who had sought Lara’s advice on her Atlantic rowing challenge before tackling it themselves, albeit as a pair rather than solo.

The trip down Memory Lane continued as Lara visited the top floor of School House to find her former Oswald House Room. Very little had changed! Lara was also delighted to spot herself in one of the House photos on the wall.

A quick visit followed to the Biology Block, where Hon OV Rachel Worth, who is also Deputy Head of Lower Years, stepped out of her lab to thank Lara for such an inspiring speech before OV and Biology teacher Harriet Lacey (Br 93-04) and her Sixth Form students welcomed Lara to their lab, where she was again asked enthusiastically both about her rowing and her career.

Lara joined OV and Head of Sixth Form, Josh Hand (Cl 91-01), Hannah, Careers Adviser Mary McCumisky, the two Captains of Boats and some U6 students interested in cyber security for lunch. Lara was keen to learn about the Sixth Formers’ plans for their future, offering encouraging words of advice and happily answering their questions in return.

On completion of lunch, Lara was whisked away to see Hon OV Duncan Branchett’s U6 Computer Science group. Here Lara faced many insightful questions about her chosen career and was similarly interested to learn about their A-level and their differing plans for life after King’s. Lara’s rowing challenge was also of great interest, particularly to learn how different ocean rowing is to that on the river, and the different skills required. The session ended with Lara saying how she hopes to see their CVs in five years’ time!

During the day, Lara bumped into Hon OVs Richard Davis and Dr Mark Poole, who were delighted to have a catch up with Lara and to also ask after her brother, Maximilian (Cr 03-10). Max currently works for their older brother, Charlie, who runs the family business having taken it over from their father; both brothers were such a great help and support to Lara during her row.

The day ended with a trip to the Keyes Building, another new addition to the site since Lara’s days at King’s, and to the John Moore Theatre, where Lara had many happy memories of her time taking part in drama and being involved with school productions.

Lara concluded, “It has been surprisingly emotional returning to King’s for the first time since I left in 2008 and seeing the areas I remembered, especially those such as the Cathedral that I probably didn’t appreciate while at school! It is amazing to see the incredible new buildings and facilities, especially the Michael Baker Boathouse, that make me wish I could return to do my A-levels all over again!”

Our many thanks to Lara for giving her day to the staff and pupils of King’s, for answering so many questions, so patiently, and inspiring the future generations.