7 minute read
Adventurous Path
ALUMNI NEWS
Keep updated with more past students news in The Grammarian publication available at www.rgs.qld.edu.au/community/publications
Olivia’s adventurous path
Olivia Old (RGS 2021) always planned on a Gap year after completing Year 12. Olivia is now taking that opportunity, based in the small Sri Lankan village of Ambalangoda, located south of the country’s largest city Columbo.
Joining a three-month childcare volunteering programme, hosted by Plan My Gap Year (PMGY), Olivia is hoping to make a difference in the lives of young children.
“I have absolutely loved the experience,’’ said Olivia, who volunteers in the girls home and lives in a three-story house, joining 50 volunteers in the accommodation.
“I have been able to make a real connection with the girls and it has been very rewarding so far. They are all such happy girls. “I feel that I can contribute a lot to improving their English skills as well as just bringing some joy to their day. “It’s also such a beautiful country.” PMGY programmes aim to enhance education, training, healthcare and general living conditions for those experiencing poverty. Olivia fundraised before her trip to provide the PMGY Foundation with much needed funds to help others in need. After her Sri Lankan volunteering experience, Olivia plans to work as an au pair on the French/ Spanish border for another three-months before returning to Australia and starting nursing studies at university next year.
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Q&A
Steven Deaves (RGS 1987)
Steven Deaves Nearing the end of school at RGS, Steve Deaves (RGS 1987) was unsure about what to do after school. Lucky Steve was paying attention at assembly, as an announcement about a local article clerk job was the starting point of a successful legal career, which nows includes the title of Queen’s Counsel (QC).
CQ: What does it mean to have been appointed a Queen’s Counsel?
SD: “For me, being appointed as a QC demonstrates that you don’t have to go to Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne to reach the pinnacle of your profession. If kids love living in their home town they can still achieve their career goals without having to leave. The difference between a barrister and a QC is wearing a very long wig and having different robes, I now wear a silk robe, which reflects on the term ‘taking the silk’ instead of the woollen robe. It’s a different uniform and different title, but I’m also expected to take on more of a leadership and mentoring role at the bar.”
CQ: Are many regional barristers recognised as QCs?
SD: “I’m only the fifth Rockhampton-based QC in history. In Queensland, there are only 137 QCs – out of which, just six are based outside of Brisbane.”
CQ: How do you become a QC?
SD: “I applied in August and received the confirmation of the appointment on 2 December. An entire investigation was conducted by a sub-committee of experienced QCs who looked at the applicants’ careers and spoke to other barristers and solicitors who have worked with and against them. A recommendation is then made to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who then confers with the judiciary, and then makes a recommendation to the Governor as the Queen’s representative in Queensland.”
CQ: Where did your legal career start?
SD: “After completing studies at The Rockhampton Grammar School, I undertook an Articles of the Clerkship at South & Geldard while at the same time doing a Bachelor of Laws study externally through QUT. In 1993, I was admitted as a solicitor and became a partner at South & Geldard Lawyers in 1996. I left the firm in 2011 to become a barrister.”
CQ: Do you miss being a solicitor?
SD: “I enjoy that this job (barrister) is intellectually challenging and every case is different. Every case has a barrister on the other side who is trying to make you lose. It’s the ultimate competition. I do miss the team aspect of working as a solicitor where you have other people to bounce ideas off whereas working as a barrister I’m often on my own.”
CQ: Any tips for budding solicitors or barristers?
SD: “Do work experience to try and get a picture of what it’s really like (not like what you see on TV); get some contacts from work experience; have a part time job in an unrelated field – get life experience outside of law; become a solicitor first before becoming a barrister. It helps with maturity and helps understand more about the soliticor’s job. It also gives you more knowledge as a barrister about how you can assist the solicitor and their clients.”
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Taking ownership of school pride
Playing sport and activities means many different things to many different people. A common underlying factor for every sporting participant should be a set of values both the individual, or a team, agrees to and acts upon – both on and off the sporting field. RGS Director of Co-Curricular Mr Todd Wells is calling for students to take the lead in making a difference.
RGS Director of Co-Curricular knows what it is like to live and breath school pride. While now leading the Secondary School’s cocurricular programme, Mr Wells is also a past student of the school, graduating in 1995, who during his school days loved nothing more than representing RGS. “Red and Black. Loud and Proud,’’ Mr Wells said. This is the mantra he wants every RGS student to take on when they are representing the School, whether it be on the football field, the netball court or in a music rehearsal.
Mr Wells also identifies the importance of the RGS students taking ownership of this pride. While expectations have always existed, Mr Wells now wants to take this from the pages of a book or the back of someone’s mind to the forefront of everyones minds. “Fundamentally, at School, we’re trying to use co-curricular to help students also develop life skills which is incredibly important both while they are at School and after they finish School,’’ Mr Wells said. Mr Wells, along with RGS Co-Curricular student captains and Teachers-in-Charge of sports and activities, have identified core values and the levels of participation on offer at RGS. “The students provided the input by voting on core values they could focus on when representing the School,’’ Mr Wells said. “We don’t have one sporting group living by a different standard to others. We want everyone to have the same values.”
Three key values identified were – Respect, Community and Responsibility. Sitting above the expected values are the levels of participation available to all students – Participation, Challenge and Excel. “It starts with students simply signing up, turning up and having a go. We also want students to have the opportunity to be challenged every single day to try and improve and we want students to be the best they can be. Excelling in a sport isn’t necessarily representing your region or State, it could be playing in a 7B team and then progressing to the 8A team the following year,’’ Mr Wells said. “It’s not about where you start but where you finish and we also want coaches to work with students who are coachable, which is where students need to identify with the values of Respect, Community and Responsibility. “You learn resilience through sport and activities. It also helps you manage your time and can provide a good balance in life. “It’s about learning more from a loss than a win, testing your character and helping your team mates. We want students looking out for each other and supporting each other around the School.”
Mr Todd Wells
