Currently I am employed as a Senior Lecturer in Psychology in the Discipline of Behavioural & Social Sciences in Health at The University of Sydney. However, how I ended up teaching Psychology and conducting Research as an academic is a rather odd story...

I originally pursued several different career paths before settling into my current career.  I was educated in Sydney, Australia, and left high school at the age of 16 to take up a brokerage cadetship program offered by the National Australia Bank. After 12 months I realised that stock broking  was not my calling in life and so I entered night school at a technical college where I completed my High School education. During that time I worked days as a apprentice chef at a prominent Television Station in Sydney, only to be forced out of that job when management of the catering company I was employed by changed hands. Thus ended my career as a great Chef!

My next career move was working as a supervisor for an Industrial Maintenance company where primarily I was employed to clean up toxic waste - (I think it's obvious why I didn't make a career out of that particular job)!
 

Finally, in 1994 I gained entrance into the University of Technology,  Sydney,  where  I  began  study  in  Medical Science through the School of Nursing. Originally, I had planned to pursue medicine as a career, but found the psychology components of the course far more to my liking. Thus, after one year at UTS, I applied to transfer to the University of Sydney and enrolled in a B.A. in Psychology.

In 1998 I graduated with a double major in Psychology & Education and opted to enroll in a Master of Applied Science research degree in Psychology. Having completed my dissertation for my Masters in 1999, I was awarded a University Postgraduate Award (Scholarship) and PhD candidature with the then School of Behavioural & Community Health Science at the Faculty of Health Sciences at The University of Sydney. I was awarded my PhD in Psychology in December 2003 and began working as an Associate Lecturer in Psychology in the School of Behavioural & Community Health Sciences in January 2004. In January 2005, I was appointed as a continuing Lecturer in Psychology and in 2006 began my own research team called Prometheus. In 2007 I also commenced working at the Brain and Mind Research Institute as a Child and Adolescent Psychologist. Since 2007 I've had a number of success with my research and teaching practice and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2010.

In my leisure time you would find me playing computer games, sailing or eating! When it comes to sailing, I can say that I have been around boats for most of my life and have more than 20 years experience sailing both for pleasure and in competition. I first experienced boating when I was about 8 years old. Later I joined the Naval Reserve Cadets and learnt how to sail various craft such as Corsairs, Flying 11's, and 49ers. I competed in several civilian and military regatta's and later trained with the Royal Australian Navy Reserve, where I gained some experience on their commissioned Tall ship, H.M.A.S. Young Endeavour. In recent years I have mainly participated in social sailing with friends on Maricats and Hobbie Catamarans, as well as S80's and a few other types of small yachts. Although I find it difficult to gain as much time on the water as I would like, I have over the past years attained various levels of yachting experience, of which I am slowly logging to count toward my certificate as a yacht master. My dream is to one day build my own wooden boat from Huon Pine and other Tasmanian hardwoods.

My other favourite past time is that of aviation. With my father working for QANTAS during my childhood years, I had the opportunity to be around aircraft a lot.  By the time I was 22, I attained my Civil Aviation Authority GFPT Pilots license and have since logged over 100 hours on various single engine aircraft ranging from the PA-28 Piper Cherokee Warrior, to Cessna 152's and 172's. Unfortunately, due to my study and work commitments over the years, my flying experience has waived. Perhaps one day I will return to flying, but I doubt it will be any time soon.

Since I was 16 I've also taken part in Martial Arts training, in particular that of Hapkido and Aikido. I've found both disciplines to be rewarding for self-defence training, and for general physical fitness and esteem building. In my late teens and early 20's I briefly competed in Hapkido tournaments in Sydney. However, due to the sometimes overly zealous competitors you compete against in such tournaments, I ceased competing to save both injury to myself and my ego! I now only train in the Japanese martial art discipline of Aikido (translated to: "The way of Accord"). I find this type of training to be far more beneficial for my physical and spiritual wellbeing and highly recommend it to anyone interested in a low-impact, purely defensive, form of martial arts.

Overall I would say my outlook on life is best summed up by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"What is success? To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children.
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends.
To appreciate beauty; To find the best in others.
To leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition.
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.