You had the privilege of growing up in Christian fam & knowing Jesus from a young age...
Yep so I grew up in a Christian family and had the privilege of understanding God’s grace and the message of Jesus from a very young age. Although in some of my later teenage years there were times where I pushed God away a bit and tried to do my own thing, God kept calling me back to him.
In your teens you were super involved in the church but found a nice balance with CS...
When I was in my teen years, I found that having church and CS was such a nice balance, because it gave me the opportunity to hang out with lots of other Christian surfers, doing fun, crazy stuff together, but also the space to dig deeper into God’s word at church.
What fascinated you in studying psychology & doing what you do with disability caring?
Psychology has always fascinated me, because at the end of the day it’s the study of what makes us who we are. It’s a great space to delve into a lot of the questions we find ourselves asking every day and it’s also a beautiful opportunity to be able to help people in my career. Doing disability care part-time while I complete my studies felt like a natural progression, there’s a lot of overlap in what I’m studying, and it’s given me that practical understanding of what it’s like to work with people in a caring context. I hope that my time in support work is able to provide me with a solid grounding for when I eventually practice as a clinical psychologist.
This past year you've taken over as Director for Paddle Against Poverty. Can you tell us about this organisation & your role within it.
The Paddle Against Poverty has been running for 22 years, this will be its 23rd. It’s a charity event supported by Christian Surfers Australia (CSA), and was actually founded by my dad, along with a few others. So, it really has done the full circle. What started as a small group of keen Christian surfers, eager to help children in poverty, has turned into a community event, with around 100 paddlers taking to the water each year to raise money for a myriad of powerful causes, such as Compassion Australia and Mercy Huts to name a couple. My role this year as its director, is to oversee the organisation and leadup to the event, which starts around 6 months beforehand, as well as make sure that as an event the Paddle continues to grow and flourish so that we can help as many people as we can, in the most effective way possible.
Dan Hatton has been a big supportive influence for you...
Dan has been the director of the Paddle for the last 10 years! He has poured his heart and soul into it and the results are so evident. Under the gracious hand of God, Dan has been able to create such a strong and positive culture around the Paddle, where people are just so happy to be a part of it… I feel honoured to have received the baton from Dan, and he has been an amazing support in this transition process as I learn the ropes and figure everything out. Along with Dan, Jono Bailey has also been incredible to work alongside, and someone who has helped me greatly in my first year as director.
Music is a big part of your life. How do you express that?
From a young age, music has been a passion of mine. I remember playing in the church band from my early teens and haven’t stopped since. There was a period of time in my earlier teens where I considered trying to make it a full-time thing, however I ended up deciding to pursue psychology instead, and now it’s just something I enjoy doing, as well as playing gigs on weekends as some extra part-time work. The most profound impact music has had on me though is definitely in worship. I love singing to God and leading others to do so as well, it’s such a special experience for me.
Any revelations you've had recently?
I think if I had to name one, it would be that despite most of the responsibility of the Paddle being on my shoulders this year, I need to hand my anxieties, worries and stress over to Jesus, and trust that his plans are good. Although, this is far easier said than done!
You're about to get married! Woohoo! How did you & Amelia meet?
Yes I am, in July this year. It’s a very exciting, but busy time, especially with the Paddle coming up! Amelia and I met through her older sister Amaris, who I met through one of my best mates who was dating Amaris at the time. Those two are now married, so it’s quite cool that one of my best mates will be my “brother-in-law” (not legally, but you know what I mean).
What makes you happiest?
I think happiness is something that we all desire, and treasure when we have it, but doesn’t necessarily last. I think joy is a far more profound state, and something that the bible talks about a lot. Joy is intertwined with peace, and joy in knowing Christ, is a state that transcends situations, emotions or context. In saying this I think of my uncle Pete, who sadly died of cancer at the end of last year. Despite everything he was going through, Pete has this unshakeable joy that flowed from his relationship with Jesus. It was a joy that spoke to the hearts of those around him, as we watched his health deteriorate and his body decay, he seemed to grow brighter and brighter as he got closer to heaven. This joy that Pete had, and that anyone who follows Christ has, is what I hold most dear.
Favourite worship album?
I think some of the Hillsong worship is pretty awesome to listen to, but in all honesty I don’t actually listen to that much music so I can’t say for sure.