Sophie gives back

Thursday, March 16, 2023
Brenton Stacey
About the Author

Brenton Stacey

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Brenton is Avondale University’s Public Relations and Philanthropy Officer. He brings to the role experience as a communicator in publishing, media relations, public relations, radio and television, mostly within the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific and its entities.

Serving others has changed this nursing student’s life

Employed as a paramedic in London, Sophie Rothery enrolled in our nursing course on her return to Australia. She has received awards for her surf lifesaving (including Volunteer of the Year from Northern Beaches Council) and is a Strike Team Leader with Disaster Relief Australia. It deploys defence force veterans, emergency responders and civilians to help when times are tough.

“My experience at Coraki [a port town on the Richmond River in northern New South Wales] and Lithgow changed my life. I remember seeing news about the floods when I was between jobs—spending every day like you’re never going to have a day off again. It felt wrong. I needed to do something, so I searched for ‘disaster relief Australia.’

“My first deployment was to Brisbane coordinating the volunteers who wanted to help. We made sure they could safely engage in a reciprocal relationship of service—we didn’t want them running with a big smile into someone who’s just had their house flooded. I partnered with a beautiful woman who had severe PTSD from the war and from being part of an organisation where your life is so structured to being discharged where your life is not so structured. I loved helping her and learning from her.

“The next deployment, to Lithgow after the floods, took things a step further, going to people’s houses who hadn’t seen anyone in two weeks. Working alongside those from the Army and Navy, we gutted the RSL club and, on our last night, provided a dinner, a dance and a drink. And we fixed the court and played bowls. The sense of community was strong. People thanked our volunteers for cooking dinner and asked one, ‘Where do you live?’ And they said, ‘Melbourne.’ They had a van and thought, I can drive it up and serve food out of it.

“Each deployment’s about 10 days, so I spend a month away from home each year. And I spend a couple of hours a week coordinating logistics, training volunteers and checking in with veterans.

“I’ve had Guillain Barre Syndrome. It’s a rare disorder where your body’s immune system attacks your nerves. I was in the children’s ward at Sydney Adventist Hospital. I’ll never forget the role the nurses played in my recovery. I suffered PTSD after recovering. Now I want to help others who think they need to put up a brave front.

“I came to Avondale to be part of a smaller community—the intakes at other universities are too big. I know people who’ve studied here. You compare who they are now with who they were then and see how much they’ve grown. There’s a sense of friendliness not competitiveness here. And that’s what healthcare is like; a coordinated team striving for the same goal.”

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