I am Luke Sondergeld, I am a Diploma of Nursing student and serve on the CQUniversity Student Representative Council, the Student Participation and Retention Committee, and I am a strong advocate of leaving everywhere you go better than when you found it. I am spearheading a Peer Assistance Study program for Students so that they can be assisted with getting through the course of their choice, I believe in supporting and assisting students who request and need the help.
I served in the Royal Australian Navy for five years as a Naval Officer taking command of ships out of Cairns and Perth, and running the Western Australian Port for a period of nearly two years. I came to Rockhampton in 2014 with my wife Alinta, and my son Joseph, since moving we have added a daughter Darby to the mix. I worked for a Not-For-Profit for nearly 18 months before leaving due to medical reasons and spending a considerable amount of time laid up considering life and where it was taking me. I began to reflect on what my purpose was, what it all had been leading to. I have always had a fascination with the Medical field, but could never justify the 10 years of Medical School, besides most Doctors don’t spend enough time with the patients for my liking, and that’s not what I wanted. I then thought about all the Nurses who helped me during my times of need, the service they provided, their knowledge and prowess. Bingo, my purpose. I enrolled at CQUniversity for the mid-year intake in their Diploma of Nursing Program in 2016.
I joined the Student Representative Council in late 2016 because I believe in having a student voice, and ensuring that voice is heard. The student voice is integral to ensuring the experience and life of any student is the best that it can be. Whether it’s extracurricular activities, improvements to campuses, and suggestions for services or changes to be made to streamline the graduation process. These are all examples of things that the Student Representative Council is designed to discuss and take action on.
I write a personal blog called Maintain the Rage the idea behind Maintain the Rage originated with Gough Whitlam, an Australian Prime Minister who famously said in 1972 “God save the Queen, because nothing can save the Governor General”. He would go onto to say “Maintain your rage and enthusiasm through the campaign for the election now to be held and until polling day.” in which Gough Whitlam conferred to the Australian People that they should keep their interest, their tenacity, their fire until the election campaign came to an end on polling day, to put an end to the nine-term streak that the Australian Liberal party had wrought on the Country. My sentiment towards Mr. Whitlam is not that of political support, but rather his passion, his drive and dare I say it his perspicacity. I endeavored to harness these qualities and apply them to my own life. I adopted the saying Maintain the Rage as a sort of sign off for my posts to fellow Nursing Students, as a pick me up when something had gone awry, and as an encouragement to others to Maintain their Rage.
I now seek opportunities, ideas, concerns, considerations and voices from the student body, whether TAFE or Higher Education, to bring to the Student Representative Council. If you have any of the aforementioned please email [email protected] or myself personally at [email protected].
Maintain the Rage,
Luke Sondergeld