From the President of the OTGA - James Brown

2020 continues to challenge us in ways we could not have imagined when we welcomed in the new decade, and has certainly tested the resilience of our entire community. Whether it be current students whose Trinity experience has been like no other; teachers and staff who have dramatically adapted their craft; parents and families who continue to juggle work, life and caring priorities; or our Old Boy community, young and old, whose health, lives and livelihoods have been significantly impacted by COVID-19, we are all facing daily tests to our resilience and coping mechanisms.

We will no doubt look back at 2020 and hindsight will provide clarity over the different strategies employed and decisions made to manage through the pandemic, but I suspect what will be identified as a clear positive is the way communities such as the Trinity community have pulled together to look out for each other. We have seen some great examples of this in recent months.

On 22 July, the school held the annual Careers Expo for students in Years 10, 11 and 12, despite the challenges posed by social distancing restrictions. I joined 13 other OTGs to share our knowledge, background and insights across a number of industry sectors including business, banking and finance, medicine, medical research, science, engineering, law and the built environment. Whilst the format was quite different this year with the OTGs presenting virtually, the engagement and enthusiasm of the boys was excellent.

The OTGA believes the continued involvement of our OTGs within the school community is an important part of our culture and history and supporting our Old Boys’ career aspirations in what is expected to be challenging employment conditions in coming years will be critical. I caught up with some OTGs after the Careers Expo; each had really interesting backgrounds and insights to share and a keen willingness to help and mentor our future Old Boys and those currently undertaking tertiary education, vocational training or early in their careers. We are continuing to develop our careers strategy focused around providing support through a modern and relevant Old Boy network so please join our LinkedIn network and stay tuned for more details as we progress.

Our social media team has been active during the Melbourne lockdown to keep our OTGs connected, entertained and informed. A couple of great Humans of Old Trinity interviews worth checking out on the OTGA Facebook, Instagram and website highlight the significant and diverse talent and experiences across our Old Boy community. Chris Hargreaves’ (OTG 2011) story of the Trinity experiences that have shaped him as a person and his journey to find his passion for teaching and Patrick Jaffe’s (OTG 2016) story of pursuing his passion for music (which he discovered at Trinity) whilst studying Economics, are both inspirational and shining examples of the Trinity man. We thank Chris and Patrick for their time and wish them all the best in the future – including Patrick’s new album, Eldorado!

Also during lockdown, we launched the OTGA group on Strava and have been overwhelmed by the response with so many OTG athletes signing up and staying active during these challenging times. More than 400 activities and 300 hours were logged across running and cycling in only our second week! It is pleasing to see the broad cross section of the OTG community coming together to encourage each other’s health goals with ‘Kudos’ and strong support. Denis Curnow (OTG 2017) from our social media team is also posting bodyweight sessions to try during lockdown so make sure you join up here – all welcome and free to join.

One of the finest examples of pulling together as a community is from our very own OTG Spider-Man, Stuart Tyson (OTG 2002). It was reported in The Age (20 August) that he has been running through his St Kilda neighbourhood dressed in a suit and mask. As a strategy to cope with his own mental wellbeing in lockdown, Tyson wanted to inject ‘something surprising and playful into his life and a really fun thing to introduce into the public’. His efforts have had a positive and joyful impact on many in the community including a 4-year old with cancer who received a boost from our very own friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. Well done, Stuart, we are proud of you! Read more about Stuart in the Back Page Interview on Page 31.

On behalf of the OTGA, I wish everyone in the Trinity community the best during these challenging times. Please stay safe and connected. We invite all OTGs to follow us on our social media platforms. We also welcome members of the community who may be able to assist in practical ways getting in touch with us at otg@trinity.vic.edu.au

James Brown (OTG 1992)