GROWING up in New England helped pave the way for Michele Bullock to create history as the new Reserve Bank governor.
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On July 14 Ms Bullock was named to replace Philip Lowe in September and will be the first female governor since the RBA was founded in 1959.
The University of New England graduate still has links to the region.
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She did a Q and A with the UNE media team after she was appointed deputy governor of the RBA in April, 2022.
"I went to Armidale High School and at the end of school I was accepted into medicine at the University of NSW. But I was only 17 and I wasn't sure I was cut out for medicine," Ms Bullock said.
"My dad (Ivan Droop) worked in administration and data processing at UNE, and he suggested I speak with a few people about the Economics course because I enjoyed that subject at school.
"As a country girl, I found the idea of going to the big city quite daunting, so staying at home was a good option."
Ms Bullock was a resident at the college from 1983 to 1984.
![Michele Bullock, who grew up and attended university at Armidale will take over as governor of the RBA. Picture by Darren England/AAP PHOTOS. Michele Bullock, who grew up and attended university at Armidale will take over as governor of the RBA. Picture by Darren England/AAP PHOTOS.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/PMrCA3Rpn38pKDFxaenbSb/1fdd5f0b-de53-4cdc-b0ba-affa4723f6a3.jpg/r0_0_800_524_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
While at St Albert's, she met her future husband. She graduated with first class honours in Economics.
Ms Bullock later obtained a Master of Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
"Even though my family lived in Armidale, I made a conscious effort to engage with university life. I affiliated with St Albert's College and got involved in sport. I didn't just stay home and hang out with my school friends," she said.
"There are lots of fond memories - of the people I met through my course and through college and sport. I loved playing intervarsity hockey and have very fond memories of the Ag Eco and Rural Science balls. From the academic side, I valued that the lecturers were very available and it was easy to talk to them."
Ms Bullock joined the RBA as an intern in her honours year.
In 1995 she joined the Reserve Bank of Australia as an economic analysist.
Since then she has held positions as senior manager, deputy head of the International Department and head of the Payment Policy Department.
In December 2010 Ms Bullock was appointed as the Assistant Governor (Currency) at the Reserve Bank.
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