Versatility with a dash of modesty is how one would describe Sophie Lambropoulos.

As the Reception Coordinator at Deakin Residential Services' Burwood Campus, Sophie has amassed a plethora of accolades and has become an integral part of the operation. Experience and knowledge from the education, science, travel and hospitality sectors provided her with the foundations to flourish within all her roles. 

Sophie's passion for the hospitality industry took her to Europe for over a decade, but as the famous song goes, she “always called Australia home”. Upon her return, Sophie was looking for an opportunity to bring together her wide range of skills, and DRS was the perfect place for this. 

A typical day for Sophie includes meetings, applications, supporting the Burwood DRS Team and more. Since no day is the same at DRS there is always the chance of a headache that even Panadol would struggle to curb. 

COVID-19 has been one of those headaches. Having to navigate through a pandemic, Sophie was introduced to what would become the norm, and that was working from home. This provided her with what was lacking in her professional life in the last couple of years - a work-life balance, which also allowed for an increased sense of productivity.  

In the meantime, a supportive team combined with a rapid and accurate response plan has allowed DRS to respond quickly and safely to the pandemic. 

In her role, Sophie enjoys catching up with DRS residents and seeing them take their first steps toward independent living whilst manoeuvring through adult responsibilities. 

Did Sophie also tell you that she has an addiction? Dangle a block of chocolate in front of her and she will do anything for you!

If all this wasn’t enough to keep her busy, Sophie recently walked 60km to raise funds for vital cancer research at Peter Mac.