“I am politically active, I play golf quite badly and I am a third-generation Rotarian. I have two brothers, one a technology entrepreneur, the other a classical ballet dancer. Hands up: who was surprised by anything I said..?”Trent’s presentation last Wednesday certainly was a departure from the stereotype many of the public view members of Rotary. Conservative? Yes, Trent is very active in the Liberal National Party of Queensland.
However, in many other ways, he certainly is different: He is in a permanent partnership with his partner Nick (actually, they plan to marry in a few weeks). If he were to stand for parliament, of course, he wouldn’t be the first openly gay member (a few weeks ago, our Federal MP Angie Bell spoke at our club and there were others before).
Trent’s career to date is uncommon too: born in Tamworth some 39 years ago, by his own admission, he was a “middle of the road student”. But then he put his mind to it and ended up with the school medal, entered University to study economics and law. He became very active in the Student Union. “I loved the strategy and brutality of student politics,” he said. The passing away of his dad triggered a change again. “I used this as an excuse to retreat from my social circles” and joined a friend in a photography business. Trent’s words “You learn more from your mistakes and failures than you ever will from your success” give you an indication…
He moved back to his family (meanwhile in Brisbane), step by step worked himself into an IT leader position at UQ, while finishing his economics and law degrees by distance education.
Trent gave us a very honest and powerful insight into his life. Isn’t it great to have a new member of that caliber among us in Surfers Sunrise? Welcome!