Where are they now?

Kelly and Christian Hodges graduated from FCAC in 2008. Their journey since High School has taken them to University and overseas before settling on the Sunshine Coast.

Christian teaches at the University of the Sunshine Coast, where he is involved in gaming and programming courses. “I always wanted to be a game developer. When I graduated in 2008, due to the global financial crisis, there were no jobs in gaming. I studied architecture for a few years before returning to gaming”. His current work outside of teaching includes consulting, developing prototypes and using gaming technology to create visualisations for real work applications.

Kelly (nee Daley) is a dietician who runs her own business. Reflecting on her time at FCAC, nutrition and sports were common themes throughout her studies. At University, Kelly studied dietetics and personal training and has worked in that industry ever since. She is currently studying to become a Diabetes Educator. After finishing their University studies, Kelly and Christian worked for a few years before packing up and selling what they could before moving to Europe. The belated gap year was a chance for Christian to work on his first game while the couple travelled throughout the UK, France, Andorra and Spain in a camper van. Returning to Australia and settling on the Sunshine Coast, they soon established themselves in their community. Kelly was instrumental in establishing the first Park Run on the Sunshine Coast in 2012. At the time, it was only the eleventh Park Run in Australia. Christian became involved in Coded Dojo, teaching kids 7-17 how to do programming.

Kelly and Christian were High School Sweethearts, so many of their fond memories were of this time early in their relationship. FCAC was a foundation for many reasons for them. Kelly’s family had recently moved to Australia from South Africa, and her parents, they needed to choose a school where they were taught good values. Other memorable moments they reminisced about included capture the flag and playing handball. “The queues to play were massive, but everyone was welcome”.

When asked what they valued most about FCAC, they said, “Community, it was like a little village. You knew everyone, and everyone knew you. You didn’t get lost in the crowd as you do with a larger school. You truly belonged”.

Scan the QR Code to watch our Alumni video on Kelly and Christian Hodges.