Leading the Way

Last week I had the pleasure of representing The Pinnacle Foundation at this year’s Young Queer Leaders Conference. The conference brought together GLBTIQ youth from across the country who individually represented the best qualities of our community; strength, determination, compassion and ingenuity. The stories and personalities of the many attendees I met during the duration of the conference was nothing short of inspiring. Each individual was not only a successful and productive member of their field but was also uniquely committed to the principles of equality and inclusiveness.

When it was eventually time to share my own story and my own hopes and dreams for my career in Catholic Education; I was simply not prepared to the response I received from the assembled attendees. Almost all of the individuals in attendance came up and congratulated me after my speech and either expressed how much they related to the inequalities of my professional journey or how brave they thought I was for not only continuing my work in Catholic Education but for also striving to make the Catholic Educational community an ally in the equitable and inclusive treatment of GLBTIQ students and teachers. 

Humbled and touched though I was by these words of praise, I found one key fault in their opinions; being called brave. Being called brave is something I am definitely not used to. I personally don’t consider it brave to stand up to inequality or injustice, I consider it a duty and a privilege; an opportunity to use my abilities and skills for the betterment and development of the entire human race. Leadership may be difficult, but I consider myself lucky not brave to be in a unique position to make real change in an industry that exists as the final and perhaps greatest adversary to the equitable treatment of the GLBTIQ community. Difficult though the road ahead may be, Dr. Seuss said it best, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

- Matt 

Keeping you in the Loupe

Starting you off with an amazing pun to represent my recent days. I got my Loupes last week. Whoever decided to put a pair of binoculars on to some stylish frames like these was a genius.

The loupes have made some of my work and a lot of my posture better. I can now work with greater efficiency and accuracy within the clinic here at uni and just in time as well because yesterday (this being the bigger news) I had my very first patient.

For obvious privacy reasons I cannot divulge any information that would allow you to identify my lucky test subject but I can give you a run down of my feelings about the experience.

I was a mixture of excitement, nerves and fears to say the least. It is one thing to cut cavities in a plastic tooth and another to check the periodontal pocket depths of my fellow classmates but to move on to a stranger who is trusting their treatment to myself (with the support of clinical staff and tutors of course) was big step.

My assistant had to stop my just before I collected my patient to give me permission to calm down. I had already read the file and browsed the history and my mind was abuzz with plans, ideas and treatments that needed to be confirmed, disregarded or edited and improved by seeing the patient.

The appointment itself went smoothly. The patient was charming and very… patient. I was able to progress through my steps for the day without meeting any major walls and formulate a plan for appointments to come. I admit when I escorted my patient out of the clinic I was a little disappointed that the experience had gone so quickly but also relieved to have survived what has been weeks/months even in the planning (if you look at all the study and preparation my degree has been providing me with).

The coming weeks of classes, clinic and simulation will determine the kind of dentist I am beginning to become.  These loupes make everything closer and clearer and the foreseeable future looks better than good.

- Nick 

Happy Holidays

Holidays. Even the word itself is a happy one. It conjures up images of white sandy beaches, over-priced cocktails and air conditioners blasting at maximum. However, given that my first holiday all year is in winter in one of the coldest states in Australia, my holiday’s sadly only consisted of over-priced cocktails. In spite of this, the break I have had as given me not only a renewed energy but also a renewed focus and drive to complete the one remaining semester than is left in my degree.

With my exams over and my stress levels and an all time low, I travelled to Brisbane to visit my family and friends. Seeing all the people I love most in the world was exactly what I needed! After one of the most difficult semesters of my degree and an interstate move to a new and unfamiliar city, I was both mentally and physically drained. The thought of another grueling semester was quite literally the least appealing concept I could think of.

Once I was back in the family home however, all my stress and worry over the next few months seemed to slowly ease. My Mum, who is by far both my biggest fan and source of support, immediately smothered me with words of love, kindness and support. “There’s only one semester left!”, “Look how far you’ve come already”,  “I know your tired but you’ve been through much worse and you can get through these last few months too” and her favorite pick me up “You’re my smart beautiful boy!”. With words like these, it is any wonder that after 10 days with her I left Brisbane, more confident and determined to finish my degree than ever?

Support and love like hers is something I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy my whole life, a fact I have taken for granted for most of my life. It’s both a sad and happy fact that all it took was six months apart and 10 incredible days together to make me realize that fact.

- Matt 

Laura - July's Blog Post

Hi there Pinnacle people,

I will try and keep this short and sweet.

Sorry I have been off the radar for a while - I have been extremely busy doing my course work, placement, looking for work and everything else in between. However all this hard work is starting to finally pay off. I recently got my first job in the community service sector as an agency residential care worker. This job has given me the opportunity to work with youth, refugees and homeless women. Not only am I increasing my experience but my confidence as well.

Yes I work crazy hours and travel long distances and at times it does take its toll on me but it is very safe to say I love my job and the challenges it comes with it. Being a residential care worker gives me a sense of purpose. I often get thrown in the deep end however I surprise myself.

I am starting to feel more like a young adult and more independent. I have a place to call home, I have a lovely girlfriend, I’m still studying, I have a job that I am happy with, and a driver’s license. It doesn’t get much better than that. Things are falling into place. I owe it all to my partner Alex, The Pinnacle Foundation, my mentor Lauren, Latitude Directions for young people, and past and present lectures/ teachers and many other’s for supporting me and not giving up on me. I cannot thank you all enough. Finally I would like to thank Welfare Personnel Australia for taking a chance on me and giving me an opportunity to prove myself.

Laura

YOUR SHOT 2013

I've been in love with music and performance ever since I was old enough to dance/bop up and down to 'Doop' by Doop in my nappy. So it's no surprise that I jumped at the chance to shoot myself to DJ stardom. Early this year I took the private DJ lesson that my best friend got me for my 18th birthday at DJ Warehouse in Leichhardt.  After the lesson my instructor showed me a flyer about a competition for amateurs called 'Your Shot'. In May this Year I attended the competition with a close friend of mine who is a musical genius and aspiring DJ. 

It was on a Saturday Morning so I had to take the day off work to go to GreenWood Hotel in North Sydney. I woke up at 6am to pick up my mate and get on a train by 7 to beat the massive queue. We ended up getting there earlier than most people. Only three people were there before us and the Your Shot crew hadn't even started setting up yet. We walked around the shopping centre and listened to some music to pass some time before the 11am start.

Even though we were amongst the first five to arrive, we didn't know where the line was going to start. Everyone was just sitting in the beer garden. So when the security guard told everyone where to form a line it was chaos. People started running to get a prime spot. Phones were dropped and there was panic! Luckily I wasn't standing too far from where the line was and we ended up being 33rd and 34th in line. Something like that.

As we walked in we were handed a form to fill out. Listing our music interests, availabilities for training and performance and asking a couple of other normal details. We also had to attach a picture of ourselves. We waited for our numbers to be called to the interview room where we would have an extremely brief (5 minute) interview. The interviewers are made up of past contestants (like Dara AKA Tigerlily) and DJs. We would be notified by the night if we had made it to the top 72 in NSW. 

Neither of us got the call but that was a relief for me because if I made it, I would have had to call in sick to work the next day to attend orientation.

It was a fun experience and I would definitely like to try it out again next year! The prizes are amazing.

Thanks for reading! 

DIBS

An update on uni life

Hello everybody! It has been a while since my last blog because I have been super busy! Aren't we all though? I wanted to give you an update on how life at Macquarie is for me.

I can't believe the first semester of uni is almost over. As I write this, I only have one exam to go. The first two were surprisingly easy (or so I think. Let's wait 'til I get the marks back). The one coming up in a couple days is going to be the hardest. 2 hours for three long response questions. I am normally really good at this sort of thing but I haven't been paying as much attention to this subject as it has been the least interesting for me when I thought it would be my favourite. It is Human Resource Management. The subject I wanted to major in. Yes it has only been one semester and I could have just had a bad unit or lecturer or whatever, but I really don't feel interested anymore. 

So far outside of class, I have attended one Uni Bar party, a few Sydney Uni parties (and actually made more friends there than I have at my own uni) participated in the FirstSTEP mentoring program for business students, went to the careers fair, gone to see a uni soccer game, participated in a drum performance, participated in a casual drum circle and attended a resume writing class of which I have included a photo of.

The one good thing about that class is that I made a friend. I hang out in the 'Queer Space' in between classes at uni and one day early in the semester before a lecture I saw a girl with the same textbook as me. I asked her if she was going to the lecture that was on in ten minutes and she said yes. We walked there together and sat next to each other and it became a routine (until we were both bored out of our brains and skipped the last few lectures [which is terrible and I never thought I would be the kind of person to skip lectures - especially in my first semester but I just lost interest]). We had a group assignment for the tutorial class and joined together with another guy.  We had two assessments to do together. A debate and an essay. We were a good team because our marks were at the upper end of the scale in our class.

I have been seeing the careers adviser as of about a month ago and just had my third session with her today. She is much more helpful than my high school careers adviser ever was. I can't wait to do the homework she sets for me every week so I can get closer to finding a career path that makes sense. I was feeling extremely stressed and anxious before my first appointment because I couldn't stop thinking of all the money and time I was wasting doing a course that isn't right for me. I actually booked an appointment with the counsellor because I just needed to vent about the hard time I was having at uni. I hated going to campus because I wasn't enjoying anything. 

After class when I would go and get something to eat and sit up in the queer space to try and socialise, I would just eat and observe everyone's conversations. Due to the fact that I have two jobs and live a fair way away from campus I don't spend much time there. I go to class, have a meal or snack and go. Everyone around me spent most of their week on campus and was making close bonds with everyone. Or they were in their second or third year and had groups of friends formed already. I felt like an intruder. I still do around some people. Things are starting to get a little better. A couple people always make the effort to talk to me even when they are already in a conversation when they see me. I am in the music society and after joining a drum circle, one of the members invited me to his place for the next time he has a jam session. That made my day. He barely knows me and he showed so much kindness and warmth.

My Croatian class is full of people that I get along with. It is a very interactive class every week so we have gotten to know each other very well. I love them all so much and they make my day every time I see them. After the final exam we all went to Max Brenner and had a delicious reward together. We sat and talked for a couple hours. It was lovely. After one of the girls I was studying with said she was craving schnitzel, the Cro in me kicked in and invited the whole class over for dinner. I had planned to make schnitzel later in the week anyway so it was perfect. A few people were available and made the journey to my little town house in the western suburbs to eat on a Thursday night. It was a great night and I felt like I was in an episode of 'Come Dine With Me', just without any negative comments!

So that's a lot of information to take in and I have even more stories to tell. However there are many more blogs to write so stay tuned to keep updated! Thank you for reading.

- Dibs

Inspired by Greatness

Walking up the stairs to the Ballroom, I finally had an insight into how Cinderella must have felt; around me were the elite of the elite all gathered in their best suits and dresses. The excitement in the air was practically palpable! Unlike Cinderella’s Ball however, these people weren’t gathered to witness an example of stereotypical love but were here to witness Pride in Diversity’s annual AWEI awards and business luncheon, celebrating companies whose policies promoted equality and supported their LGBT employees.

As the luncheon started, it was clear that the various businesses gathered weren’t in attendance purely for the incredible food or the plentiful alcohol but because they truly believed in equality and in supporting their LGBT employees.  What was surprising about this wasn’t how devoted these businesses were, but the number of businesses devoted to equality. Filling the ballroom were some of the most influential and successful people of Australia, representing companies and organizations that were at the top of their respective fields.  

As the luncheon progressed and the awards were handed out, it was both humbling and inspiring to hear just how far these powerful companies had gone to ensure equitable treatment of all their employees. These practices alone would be enough to make anyone proud of Australian businesses, but it was the actions of one of our national banks that inspired me the most. Out of their thousands of employees, this bank chose to recognize the work and commitment of one of their lowest level employees and his passion from promoting equality both within and outside his work.  What was amazing about this young man wasn’t just his passion but how his employers both supported and encouraged his commitment for promoting equality in his workplace in community.

With only a semester to go until I graduate and start working for the Catholic Education system, I know my employers are unlikely to be as supportive and encouraging of my passion for equality and inclusiveness. However, just knowing that there are others out there devoted to a cause like my own, gives me enough hope that one day I too might help in creating an education system that values and supports the lives of not only its students but its employers as well.

- Matt