HALL OF FAME

Tell us a bit about you and your life outside NSW SES. 

I was born in Campbelltown and have lived in North Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales. I went to high school in Mackay, Queensland, and have spent the past 15 years in the Illawarra.   

I come from a blended family – I have a brother, stepsister, stepbrother and a foster brother.   

I’m currently completing a Certificate IV in Training & Assessment. I enjoy photography, and I recently started paddle-boarding.   

I also do geocaching, which is an outdoor recreation activity that uses GPS coordinates to find geocaches (hidden containers) at specific locations around the world. Once you find the geocache at a location, you sign the logbook and return the geocache for someone else to enjoy the search!  

Why did you join the NSW SES? 

It was on my bucket list!  

When my family lived in Queensland, we were in a cyclone area. My Dad was part of the QLD SES, so I got to see him preparing for cyclones. When I moved back to NSW, I wanted to give back to the community somehow and I settled on the NSW SES. I sent off an email to Wollongong Unit during their recruitment round, and that’s where I’ve been ever since.  

What motivates you as an NSW SES member?  

I love doing what I do. Getting out during weather events to help members of the community and being involved in community engagement and preparedness activities. I also love the connections you make.  

When did you join the NSW SES and what are the various skills you have learnt along the way? 

I have been with NSW SES for five years now. I was the Community Engagement Coordinator at the Wollongong Unit for almost four years and now am a Training Team member. In 2019, I became Unit Commander for the Multicultural Community Liaison Unit.  

Over the past five years, I’ve completed basic field member training, storm training, PIARO and chainsaw operator training. I’m a trainer for Storm and Water Damage Operations, Land Search Operation, General Rescue, Leadership Fundamentals and I’ve almost completed the Assessor’s Course.   

What advice would you give to others that are thinking to join? 
Just do it – don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone.  

When I first started working with the Multicultural Unit, I had no idea what I was doing or how I could help the NSW SES to reach marginalised communities. But along the way, I’ve learned so much from Unit members and about myself in terms of what I can achieve.   

What’s your most memorable experience in your time as an NSW SES member?  

Supporting the bushfire response in January 2020 – it was confronting beyond imagination, but also inspiring to see the incredible resilience of families and communities affected by the fires.   

Making friendships with members from other Units – going out of area for storm and flood events from Newcastle to the South Coast over the past five years.   

Also, working with the Multicultural Liaison Unit – learning about the refugee journeys that members have been through and the lived experiences that Unit members bring to the service. Unit members have all come together from such different backgrounds for the one purpose – they want their communities to be safe and they want to give back to the NSW community where they’ve made a new home. It’s a completely unselfish act from them. They just want to help everyone stay safe. 

What suggestions do you have for the NSW SES to strengthen who we are and what we do, into the future? 

Embrace change. Look for ways to bring the concept of ‘One SES’ to life. Volunteers and staff work together to serve the community to the best of our ability – that’s our common goal. We need to find ways to make all members feel welcome, valued and included across the NSW SES, whether it’s at State Headquarters or at a local unit.  

Why is it important for the NSW SES to have Multicultural Liaison support?  

We have a large culturally and linguistically diverse community in the Illawarra region and we currently have limited contact with many of these communities, which is a concern.  

When I was Community Engagement Coordinator at the Wollongong Unit, I learned about emerging culturally and linguistically diverse communities in the Illawarra (in addition to established communities). I didn’t know if or how these communities engaged with NSW SES or how we could effectively engage with them, due to language and cultural barriers. It’s concerning to know that they could have needed our help and we wouldn’t have known how to reach them or how they could reach us.  

The unit enables us to access the community through trusted community mobilisers. The unit helps us build trust and helps promote the positive role of emergency services. And it’s not just the SES, it’s all emergency services.