PUBLISHED BY CITIPOINTE CHRISTIAN COLLEGE CRICOS PROVIDER CODE 00996F 322 WECKER ROAD CARINDALE QLD 4152 T 07 3347 5899 F 07 3347 5900 E [email protected]WWW.BRISBANE.COC.EDU.AU Contact the Registrar for enrolment enquiries EDITOR MRS DESLEY HERSCHELL EDITORIAL MR DARREN TRINDER Email your alumni stories to [email protected]ART DIRECTION/DESIGN STUDIO E PTY LTD T 07 3356 2584 E [email protected]All material published in review is copyright by Citipointe Christian College Brisbane. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or Mechanical means, without written permission from the publisher. Citipointe Christian College are proud to announce that we are in the process of producing a beautiful cookbook to be published late November 2011. To avoid missing out pre-order your cookbooks now by visiting www.brisbane.coc.edu.au to download your order form or collect a form from College Office. AROUND OUR TABLE Email [email protected]
Transcript
Published by CiTiPOiNTe ChRisTiAN COlleGe CRICOS PROvIdeR COde 00996F
322 WeCkeR ROad CaRIndale Qld 4152 T 07 3347 5899 F 07 3347 5900
Cover Story Ashley flags a future in academia p. 2Cover Story ashley flags a future in academia P. 2
Connecting the Citipointe Christian College Brisbane Community I SEPT 2011 I www.brisbane.coc.edu.au
CanneS aPPOInTmenT FOR FORmeR nOva STudenT p. 3
RemembeRInG and CReaTInG HISTORy p. 5
FROm SHOe bOX TO bOX OFFICe p. 10
alumnI ReunIOn GROuP p. 11
Welcome from the Headmasterreview
2
Since the opening of our new $3M College Hall in Term 2 the building has been in continual use for sport, assemblies, performances and whole College events. As always at these events it is wonderful to re-connect with alumni who attend.
The recent College musical: “Beauty and the Beast”, held in the Citipointe Church auditorium sold out each night, and had many alumni in attendance. It was a great opportunity for those alumni to connect with the College.
This Review is all about alumni stories which we hope will develop this feeling of connectedness.
With this Review we ask all College alumni to visit the College’s website (http://www.brisbane.coc.edu.au) and register on the Alumni Register page so you can continue to stay in touch with us.
pastor Ron Woolley Headmaster
For about half the year Ashley Beecham (Class of 2005) is paid to travel to australian regional centres and attend sporting events where he gets the best view in the house.
He is also required to attend four training sessions per week, helping him to maintain a high level of physical fitness.
most people pay for these types of luxuries. Gym memberships are expensive, as are plane flights, sporting events tickets and interstate accommodation, yet ashley is paid for the privilege.
What’s the catch?
In his spare time, when not studying, ashley is an assistant referee in australia’s premier soccer competition, the Hyundai a-league. He and his official colleagues shoulder the responsibility of enforcing the laws of the world’s favourite game – a very important role, often unpopular with fans, but that’s Ok with ashley.
“I started refereeing when I was 14 and now eight years later this is my second season on the Hyundai a-league,” said ashley. “They extra income is handy.”
“When I was 16 I was added to the development program, and from there I’ve gone to different tournaments and have been put through different development sequences.”
“In 2009, as a result of my performances on the national youth league, I was appointed to the ‘panel’ of assistant referees for the Hyundai a-league and I retained my position this year.”
“There is a high level of accountability as an assistant referee. Our game is reviewed each week. This is done on-line and the national elite Referees manager from Sydney reviews our game.”
as a masters student, in his fifth consecutive year of study, ashley said he is grateful for his role with Football Federation australia. The extra income is welcome, as is the break from study.
after completing a bachelor of education (Secondary) with Griffith university in 2009, ashley enrolled in a masters degree, with a research focus on leadership and induction.
“When I finished my degree I wanted to push myself a bit further, so the masters was the option there. now I’m looking at a scholarship for a Phd,” he said.
“I’ve really enjoyed the research and the learning, but also the teaching. I’ve got a 10-year plan, and by the time I’m 27 I’d like to start my own business, but I’m concentrating on the academic pathway at the moment, and acquiring a really good grounding.”
ashley said his days at COCb (now Citipointe Christian College)have also been important in his development.
“at COCb, we had a really good grade. There were a lot of genuine teachers that had a real support and interest in the students. Over my six years there were a lot of good times and laughs. ”
ashley flags a future in academia
earlier this year, Felicity-Rose Harris (Class of 2005) watched in awe as film buffs from around the world, attending the Cannes Film Festival, took time to watch the short film she produced called “The Fall of erebus”.
during her visit to the famed festival, Felicity-Rose attended conferences, meets-and-greets, industry parties and watched as stars such as Jude law, uma Thurmon, brad Pit and angelina Jolie strutted the red carpet.
For Felicity-Rose, who attended the festival with fellow QuT graduate Jeff anderson Jnr, who directed the film, it was an awe-inspiring opportunity tailored for a budding film producer.
Their 12-minute film was available in the Short Film Corner where booths allowed attendees to view ‘The Fall of erebus’ and a number of other films, on demand with headphones. It was a remarkable achievement for Jeff and Felicity-Rose who worked on the film as a university project.
In five short years, Felicity-Rose has enjoyed a rapid rise from being a student with CCC’s nova arts Program, earning a degree in Film and Television Production from QuT (graduating in 2010), through to showing her craft at the world’s most renowned film festival.
In hindsight, her decision to “follow her heart” and change direction to study film and television production after dabbling in speech pathology was a defining moment. She now works with brisbane film and television post-production house, “The Post lounge” as a Facilities assistant.
Felicity-Rose had been planning to study speech pathology, but after completing a few speech pathology subjects, decided to follow my heart and study film. Her journey is all the more remarkable considering the niche appeal of the film, the second she has produced.
“The Fall of erebus” is a ‘steampunk film’, a sub-culture sci-fi genre based on an alternate reality of what the world would be like if steam superseded electricity
(a trailer is available on you Tube by searching for the film’s name). The film is part action, part animation, and cost $7000 to produce.
Felicity-Rose also produced ‘living with Georgina’ – a short documentary about a family whose mother suffers from mental illness, and the affects this has on the family rather than the patient. For Felicity-Rose, film making is her niche.
“I really enjoy helping make an idea reality and the variety in my work,” said Felicity-Rose. “There’s never a dull moment and I am constantly working on new projects.
“most of my memories of CCC include nOva. It was a lot of fun and I learnt so much. I truly believe it helped with my level of confidence and faith in my own abilities.
“I remember being involved in a wide range of activities including script writing, filming and editing, costume sewing, acting and professional clowning lessons. The staff were always inspiring and encouraged us to do the best in everything we put our hand to.”
alumni
3
Cannes appointment for former Nova student
ben went on to study at eight different universities and colleges in both theology and management. most recently he completed his mba through deakin university in melbourne.
after graduating from CCC Cindi (nee bailey) finished an education degree and taught at CCC for a year. The couple then moved to the united States for four years where they worked at a church in Portland, Oregon as youth pastors, returning to australia in 2008 with a vision to start a church.
“It has been a fun journey, and has allowed us to reconnect with a lot of fellow CCC alumni that are now in our church,” said Cindi. “In fact, we also have teachers and parents of alumni attending lifeplace!
“after living abroad for a number of years, we enjoy engaging with the community we were raised in.
“Pastoring in the 21st century is full of challenges, yet the most rewarding thing in our work is being able to help others in some small way.”
Selling comes naturallyDaniel Moss (Class of 2006) is a true salesman. never one to miss an opportunity, daniel was quick to extol the product he represents when being interviewed for this story.“If solar panels are the future of electricity, then our water generators are water’s equivalent,” he spruiked.With enthusiasm and belief in the integrity of his product, if things go to plan, daniel will soon be konia Water’s South-east Queensland Regional manager, yet a career in sales was not always his obvious career pathway.as a kindergarten-to-year 12 student at CCC, daniel left college with a strong foundation in Christian fellowship and studies, but with a desire to learn more about the bible.He enrolled and graduated from Citipointe ministry College with a diploma of ministry Studies in 2007 feeling more prepared to launch into his future.“at the ministry College I was around Christians who were very serious about their faith, and I felt I grew so much in that year in both maturity and spirituality,” said daniel.daniel then juggled a business degree at QuT, majoring in management, while working for a business called “Skydancers” to pay the bills.“I grew to love business and knew this was where my interest lies,” he said. after a short time selling billiard and snooker tables, daniel graduated with his business degree and also landed his current job with konia Water earlier this year.“The awesome thing is that working with konia is everything I was looking for in a job and more.“I wanted to work in sales, but I also didn’t want to be restricted. The position requires me to do the job of sales rep, business development coordinator, administration and customer service.”daniel explained that konia Water sells “water from air” technology, which effectively “sucks large volumes of air and extracts the humidity which can either be directed to a water purification unit or stored in a water tank for future use.”“The company has started organising the production of a water farm in the uS to produce over 200,000 litres of clean fresh water daily straight from the air. Our client wants to produce water for the likes of Coca-Cola and Pepsi so they no longer have to drill for water.”On Sunday mornings you’ll find daniel leading the three-five year old room for children’s church at the Worship Centre Carina.
4
alumni
as a Christian minister, Ben Windle (Class of 1999) is on the cutting edge of communications.
He and wife Cindi lead and pastor lifeplace, a thriving church with campuses in Carindale and West end. besides preaching to congregations several times a week, ben’s messages can also be found through a number of technologies such as on-line video, a blog site, podcasts and even the old school method of radio through a regular segment on 96.5Fm.
In his quest to spread the Gospel, ben is using just about every technology imaginable. but then, ben was ahead of his time when a student at Citipointe Christian College (CCC)…when it came to socks.
Wife Cindi, who is also a CCC alumnus of the same year explains: “ben remembers spending many lunch times on ‘detention in k2’ for his socks always being down.
“He laments the fact that the uniform now includes low socks – it would have saved him many hours of his teenage years from being in detention,” Cindi suggested.
The couple, who married a couple of years after graduating, were both captains of the Judah sports house, and according to Cindi neither “had any idea we would end up married one day.”
The couple are now closing in on their tenth wedding anniversary and enjoying their two children Houston (3) and benjamin Jordon (1).
ben is a second generation pastor who preached his first sermon at 16 and published his first book at 18, although he is quick to add “most copies remain collecting dust in my garage”.
leading the way in technology and footwear
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
When Corporal Matthew Luhtasaari looked over the silent crowd gathered at lone Pine Gallipoli, he breathed in the reverence. australian flags flew, members of the australian defence forces stood at attention, and pilgrims from across the globe drank in the history.
Stepping forward to the podium to read the Ode of Remembrance on anzac day 2011, the gravity of the moment, and the awareness of the legacy he represented stirred Corporal luhtasaari to his heart.
“This was definitely the highlight of my career so far,” reflected matthew (Class of 2001), quite a statement from a solider of his experience, but
not surprising considering his keen interest in australian military history.
His appointment to read the Ode of Remembrance was a fitting addition to a distinguished career and matthew’s winning a scholarship earlier this year to undertake a battlefield study tour of Gallipoli. Part of his role within the scholarship is researching a number of battles and the lives of individual soldiers who fought there.
“I have an avid interest in military history and am also currently conducting a lot of research into the australian light Horse and their exploits in the First World War,” said matthew.
“I have good memories of COCb. academically I enjoyed modern history and from there I developed my interest in australian military history.”
matthew’s military record in eight short years is testament to his commitment to the australian army and his love for the work.
He joined the army in 2003 as an armed Personnel Carrier driver, and by the end of this year will be promoted to Sergeant, responsible for training new recruits to be australian Soldiers.
He was deployed to Iraq in 2006 for six months and was part of a security detachment that protected the australian embassy and staff. Over 2007-2008 he spent six months in afghanistan as part of the Reconstruction Task Force, providing security to army engineers as they build infrastructure for the locals.
matthew is now stationed in the army Recruit Training Centre near Wagga Wagga. He is also a qualified gym instructor and is currently studying a bachelor of arts in his spare time.
“I have enjoyed my career in the australian army. It has provided me the opportunity to be deployed on operations, and I take great pride in my role as a recruit instructor and being able to train soldiers.”
Where are you now?
alumni
5
phot
o pr
ovid
ed b
y th
e R
oyal
Aus
tral
ian
Airf
orce
Remembering and creating history
Matthew Cox’s employer has spent well over $1 million on his professional development.
but that’s an understatement. Really, money cannot buy the training, education, experience and the plain-flat-out excitement matthew (Class of 2004) has received from his employer, the Royal australian air Force.
no matter your spending money, you cannot buy the privilege of flying a Royal australian air Force jet fighter at break neck speeds or training to deploy air-to-ground weapons.
These amazing work conditions only come to those who commit themselves to defending their country and the rigorous and often testing life of an air Force pilot.
“There is an element of risk, but I wouldn’t give this up even if I was paid $10 million – I’d still keep doing my job because I love doing what I do,” said matthew, whose tenure in the air Force reaches five years in January 2011.
In his relatively short time in the air Force, matthew has earned a bachelor of Technology in aviation, and in march this year was given his “Wings”, official recognition that he successfully completed his pilot training, all without a HeCS debt.
matthew is now focused on the next stage of his career, possibly flying australia’s premier jet fighters. To do so, he must first complete another few months of training and selection process.
“When you graduate you are asked to nominate which aircraft you wish to go to. So I nominated fast jets or Hornets and was selected from my course and started with 79 Squadron (based in Perth) in an introductory fighter course.”
matthew has since graduated 79 Squadron and moved to 76 Squadron in newcastle to finish off the fighter course. The highlights of matthew’s eight months of training in 79 and 76 Squadron reads like an action adventure. engaging in mock ‘dog fights’ with other pilots, flying directly at each other at speeds in excess of 800 km/h each, with only a couple hundred metres of vertical space between, is just one example.
“One of the coolest flights I remember was in mid-Western australia, in the Hamersley Ranges. I went out by myself in a jet fighter, flying at about 250 feet, at between 800 and 900 km/h through these ranges.
“These mountains were on either side – that was one of the most enjoyable flights.
“I love my work – it’s like hopping on a roller coaster ride. We pull up to six “G’s” – it could be more but we put
training limits on the planes.
“you really don’t get to appreciate what you are doing until you get back on the ground, because when you’re in the air, the rate of learning is so high. you are sweating just from the G force – which means your body weight is equivalent to around 500-600 kilos.”
matthew works long hours, and when he has the opportunity relaxes with his fellow pilots surfing, or just kicking a football.
“Half the time you’re just so physically exhausted you just want to relax at home.”
matthew is still a frequent visitor to CCCb these days, calling in to see his fiancée alicia Grobler another alumnus of the College.
a career money can’t buy
6
alumni
7
alumni
For Luke Petersen (Class of 1995) a rewarding coaching career started on the asphalt at Citipointe Christian College, where on most school days, he played basketball during morning tea and lunch breaks.
less than a decade later, as the assistant coach of top university teams in the u.S., he would be regularly surrounded by more than 20,000 screaming, cheering fans in american basketball stadiums.
“CCC’s basketball program was one thing that attracted me to the school in the first place,” luke recalls.
“The quality of the teachers was also fantastic. I may not remember too many of their lessons now, but I’m sure I’ve stolen a few quotes from them when trying to motivate one team or another over the years.”
luke’s basketball coaching career started when he worked voluntarily, coaching junior teams on nights and weekends, eventually landing the job of an assistant Coach with the brisbane bullets.
after two years with the bullets he took up assistant coaching positions, a year each at the university of Texas and Concordia university in austin, Texas.
Since returning to australia in 2006, luke says he is now taking a break from coaching, after head coaching stints with the Toowoomba mountaineers men’s team for three
years and the Queensland team in the 2010 australian championships.
luke said that due to the unpredictability of ‘sports jobs’, he has also leaned on his business skills as well, and is now studying to find new direction. most days you’ll find him only a few hundred metres away from those same asphalt courts.
“I’ve had two intertwining career paths,” he said. “I began in the finance industry, working various jobs and am currently
working with the RaCQ, my passion however has been in basketball.
“Finance has always been my fallback when in between paid jobs in the fickle world of sports jobs.
“I’ve taken a break from coaching to focus on studying again. I’m currently studying a diploma of ministry at Christian Heritage College.
“I’m not sure where these studies are to lead in the future, or tie in with my business and coaching experience, but I know it is where God called me to
and I’m enjoying the course immensely.
“I hope the knowledge I’m gaining in my study I can incorporate within coaching young men in the future, and through the medium of coaching basketball, I can help inspire them to be all God wants them to be.”
South West Metro FILEforce Pirates 2006Back Row (left)Luke Petersen (Asst. Coach)
Coach luke recalls lunch time basketball
Britney Maunders (Class of 2010) dreamt of embarking on an english odyssey, serving as a nanny to an english family and their children.
due to her determination, the odyssey came to pass this year, and turned into a fairytale when she and friends squeezed to the front row to observe the recent Royal Wedding between William and kate.
“It was an amazing atmosphere. my friends and I wore big union Jack hats and had ‘William and kate’ flags. all day we had people taking photos of us,” recalls britney.
“a few days later we discovered one of the pictures taken had appeared on a dutch website, a daily newspaper, Women’s Weekly and most recently, my photo appeared on the front
cover of the business section in a national newspaper! It was all quite unbelievable.”
Together with a once-in-a-lifetime Royal wedding, britney is enjoying the quintessential english working holiday.
Her role as a nancy includes taking the two children (five-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy) for walks in beautiful parks, as well as helping them with painting and colouring. living close to london’s West end, she has also become a theatre buff, so far seeing nine musicals and a play.
“and this is what I get to call my job,” britney mused. “living in london is a great experience and I’m taking every opportunity as it comes.
“I am always seeking new things in england and have even enjoyed some travel through a bit of europe.”
britney gave credit to CCC’s Careers advisor, mr Shuker, who assisted her turning a dream into reality. His suggestion to undertake a traineeship in early Childhood while still at school gave britney the chance to earn a Certificate 3 in Children’s Services in quick time, thus opening the door to her move to england.
alumni
8
britney – front row for the Royal Wedding
The “news bug” bit Andrew Foster hard in 1999, and 12 years later he has no inclination to find a cure.
andrew (Class of 1997) is a self-confessed addict for the adrenaline-filled, action-stationed life of the electronic newsroom, and today is a well-known and important resource for television and radio outlets in the brisbane and the darling downs.
andrew’s specialty is as a news cameraman and editor, but his Cv is continually expanding, showing an impressive repertoire of skills across the news media spectrum.
Working as a freelance media specialist for the Tv news of Channel Ten and abC, andrew’s handiwork is seen on Tv screens on a weekly basis.
earlier in the year, andrew reported on the devastation of the Queensland floods as they happened, and the recovery efforts which followed. It was an emotional time when news hit close to home.
While at work early this year, andrew said he received a call about flash flooding in Toowoomba, not far from where his family lives.
“after getting word that the family was Ok, I spent the next three weeks working 12-14 hour days covering the floods, flying in and out of stranded towns,” recalls andrew.
“Then in February I was approached by abC radio in Toowoomba to produce radio programs and field reports for a six-month flood recovery project.
“I ended up being offered work as a
journalist. With 12 years of television experience supporting me, I began to exercise a muscle that I never thought I had, and surprised even myself when I discovered I had writing skills.”
andrew said he was humbled and privileged when one of his reports, about a Toowoomba volunteer who had served faithfully in the community for years, was read out in Queensland State Parliament.
(continued page 9)
bitten by the news bug
alumni
9
Since his first encounter with television, pulling cables at nRl matches for Channel nine, andrew’s versatility and passion for his work has open doors of opportunities for career advancement.
“Working in the media is exciting. While there is a bit of rivalry between networks to get the news to air, there is also a fair amount of camaraderie between the field camera operators.
“I love the adrenaline rush of live television – bringing the news to people through a news bulletin and going live with breaking news.”
Recently married, andrew and his wife
matina have three children between them from previous relationships. andrew is just as keen about relaxing and other pursuits as he is about Tv news.
“I like to go camping and fishing, and try to turn off all my devices and my ‘news gathering mode’ and just relax and do nothing for a while,” he said.
“I still play the drums, and at times play in church music teams, and have given my time to direct and produce short video productions with church and other events such as easterfest.
“at COCb I can recall the bond created with friends and teachers,
and the many out-of-school events we attended. I particularly enjoyed music camps and remember having fun at Camp Caloundra and the school’s first mission trip to Fiji.”
Giving financial advice comes naturally for James Lucas (Class of 2000).
There are proven principles that James knows can help people move from financial challenge to financial freedom, and he thrives on applying these principles one person at a time.
Taking an innovative approach to helping people toward financial freedom has rocketed James and the company he founded in 2008 with two other partners, Corporation u, into their own success and national recognition.
This year Corporation u was named as a business Review Weekly’s Fast Starter, a list of the fastest growing new australian companies, with Corporation u coming in at seventh based on revenue growth.
“We started the company with no clients but big ambitions, now 3 years later we employ 35 staff,” said James.
“all of this was accomplished during the global financial crisis when most financial services companies were struggling to survive.
“The firm is independent of product providers, this means we can focus on providing quality advice and strategy instead of trying to sell a particular product.
“We currently operate out of Paddington, however have plans to expand throughout the eastern states.”
James is also expanding his expertise to cater for a younger age group – teenagers. He has published a financial literacy program called Teen CeO, teaching teenagers how to start and run their own company. The Teen CeO can be found at www.teenceo.com.au
“I loved my time at COCb, but I struggled academically – not for lack of effort,” he recalls.
“I was very appreciative of the extra support provided by a number of teachers, especially mr Condon and mr lawson.
“after completing school I still did not have the academic results to move into uni, and only with the direct influence of the school was I accepted,” said James, who went on to earn a bachelor of International business
and an advanced diploma of Financial Planning and is currently completing his masters of business administration at Griffith university.
“I like helping people starting up their own business and finding the capital required to do this. you would be amazed how easily it is to raise capital when you have a great idea and know how to let others know.”
James and Corporation U starting fast
10
alumni
Richard Steenekamp (Class of 2006) is well on the way to enjoying major success at the movie box-office, but he’ll always remember how it all started – with a shoe box.
He’ll also remember the day he stepped off a plane at los angeles airport with only a suitcase and a dream. Indeed, Richard’s life itself reads like a boy’s own story of adventure and daring – it may itself make a good movie script one day!
directing two feature films before his 25th birthday, Richard is fulfilling the promise so obvious to his parents who witnessed his enthusiasm for filmmaking first-hand since he was eight-years-old. His first film, “The Ways of a Hero” came together with a budget of $1500, and due to Richard’s determination, was shown to a packed out Garden City megaplex at its premiere.
“I walked around for two months carrying a shoe box filled with tickets I made up, selling them to every soul I saw for $10 a pop,” recalled Richard.
“The film wasn’t a school project – I just did it because an old professor told us that we shouldn’t bother attempting to make a feature film with the experience and resources we had.
I wanted to prove him wrong – I’m a bit stubborn like that.”
Just days after the brisbane premiere of his latest film “Charge Over you” in august last year, Richard boarded a plane for los angeles, with a suitcase and an inkling of a destiny in tow.
“I left everyone I knew and love to come to a place where I didn’t know a soul,” recalled Richard. “I didn’t even know where I was going to stay.”
“I rented a car from the airport and stayed in sleazy motels for a week while searching for a room to rent. I eventually found a place and bought an old Jeep Wrangler.”
On a student visa, Richard studied at California State university in an exchange program with Griffith university, while networking in movie-making circles. It was an extremely busy time, but it eventually paid off when Richard met the recently retired president of Paramount Television, responsible for creating such shows as Frasier, nCIS, medium, numbers and becker, to name a few.
after viewing “Charge Over you”, Richard’s show business contact arranged for a coveted internship with action film director Simon West (Con air, The General’s daughter, Tomb
Raider, black Hawk down).
“It’s an incredible honour to work with him,” said Richard of the director. “I’ll be switching to a working visa as I’ve been hired to work with Simon and his team on a couple of projects over the next year.”
“Charge Over you” enjoyed a successful u.S. premiere earlier this year at the “dances with Films” festival in Hollywood, being selected out of hundreds of submissions as ‘1 of 8 competition features’.
This success was a major coup for Richard and also prompted a name change. look out for “Regardt Steenekamp” in future movie credits – Richard’s real name. Richard explained that after immigrating from South africa with his family he changed to Richard to make it easy on his australian friends. now Hollywood veterans have advised him to change it back, as a marketing move.
With a view to keep his feet on the ground, Richard is a volunteer with a non-profit organisation called Red eye, part of the world-famous dream Center in los angeles run by matthew barnett.
“Red eye is especially for young aspiring artists who want to make a difference here in Hollywood,” said Richard.
“We do a lot of humanitarian activities. For example on Saturday morning we go to South Central la, the lowest socio-economic area of the city, and play with some of the children who live there.”
“To be honest I think I need it more than the kids because it can be a challenge to not get a big head amid all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. The town is densely populated with pretentious imbeciles!”
It seems Richard has lived half a life-time since his last year of schooling in 2006, yet in reality the future is just beginning for a young man who may not recall many of his school classes.
“most teachers at CCC would remember me as the guy who always fell asleep in their class. I spent my school nights working on videos and writing scripts and came to class with hardly any sleep,” he recalls.
Of his career Richard (Regardt) says: “I love that I can take all the wonders and disasters of my life and express it on film, giving others a taste of what I’ve felt and experienced.”
From shoe box to box office
Stories of changeThree college principals, two campuses, but unfortunately no swimming pool…this is the reader’s digest version of Jonathan Heron’s (Class of 1993) years at COCb until his graduation.
as an alumnus who spent all his schooling at the College, Jonathan boasts a treasure trove of memories that could fill several volumes of school yearbooks. His history with college backdates to the college’s formative years in West end.
He recalls when the sum total of the college’s playground equipment was a small trampoline and a sandpit, and when hoisting a small flag on the side of your desk indicated your need for a toilet break.
despite witnessing the college’s fund-raising program for a swimming pool, which started when he was in year eight, Jonathan only just missed diving in. The pool was opened the year after he graduated. Today, he lives and works in Israel with wife michal and daughter yoela.
“I have a lot of memories of Christian
Outreach College. The first day at school was in 1982 at West end with lloyd eastgate as the principal,” said Jonathan, who today is amazed at the College’s transition.
He recalls when the toilets were portable and sometimes overflowed, and when most classrooms were demountables. To even consider air-conditioning in the classrooms required abraham-type faith.
Jonathan moved to Israel after marrying michal in australia during 2007. In the years directly after College he experienced a varied and dynamic career-path, kicked-off with two diplomas in social science and ministry he earned from two bible colleges.
a variety of roles followed – in fast food, retail, not-for-profit and various roles in churches throughout brisbane. after a brief time as a cleaner at COCb, Jonathon fulfilled a dream, travelling
throughout europe and middle east. during the trip, while in Israel, he met up with his bride-to-be michal who he had met earlier through the Internet.
living in Israel Jonathan’s love for the scriptures is taking on renewed reality. after working his way up from being a cleaner, Jonathon today is kitchen manager at Café noga, a billiard bar in Tel aviv, and is also involved with a growing ministry project that he says is “similar to the acts church”.
“God has called us as a couple to establish something authentic and non-religious,” he said.
“It’s a community that reached out to the non-believer and builds other people and ministries which has yeshua (Jesus) as the head and foundation. We are in the beginning stage which is exciting.
“For the cooking job, I like getting to know different cultures. I have an ethiopians, two eritreaians and an arab working with me. We are able to provide jobs for people to get a start in Israel, before they move onto to better jobs.
“I am also improving existing dishes. The café has been around since 1930, and some of the dishes served have been around for a long time.”
11
Alumni Reunion GroupsTo view additional photographs go to the College website under College Alumni
Our website is now a major tool for two-way communication and enables the collection of information to help provide an improved level of service to our Alumni.
BE A pART OF OUR GROWING ALUMNI ON-LINE AT CCCB. THE ALUMNI ON-LINE COMMUNICATION SERVICE IS NOW ACTIVE THROUGH THE COLLEGE.
ALUMNI ON-LINE
www.brisbane.coc.edu.au/alumnihome/login
alumni
Class of 1991 20 year Reunion
Find us on facebook!Visit our page and ‘Like’ us today!
