Hi friends and new family!
My name is Rodger, Rodge or Rod. I may also tell you that my name is Fargo, Rudy or Remy, go with it. This is my third year at Camp Augusta. I’m hyped to come back to the land of the woodchips and feel the splinters stab between my toes. I’ve returned to the land of mischievous young men who will never grow up that is Pine Village. So let me tell you my story. I was born in Sale which is a fairly small country town in Victoria, Australia. However, I spent most of my life higher up on the east coast in Brisbane. A few years ago I completed an undergraduate degree in Psychological Science in which I studied abroad for a semester in Calgary, Canada. Through my university I also acquired my Mental Health First Aid Certificate which I thoroughly enjoyed along with the developmental, social and humanistic counselling aspects of my degree. I found it intriguing and enjoyable because it explores concepts about people’s life experience and attempts to understand and empathize with people. I experience myself as excitable, giddy, cheeky, confusing, caring and having a passion to listen.
Since ridding myself and my personal possessions of the invasive species known as woodchips I have been following one of my biggest passions; to explore and learn about new places and cultures. I have been working in Italy as an Au Pair for a wonderful family and taught English in the Austrian school system just before I found myself back here at Camp Augusta. I find joy in exploring new places, playing basketball, finding a nice patch of grass to sit and draw/paint/read, being a doofus, watching live music, attending music festivals and having a heart to heart conversation. In the past I have volunteered at an Emaus Community in France, at a wild dolphin resort in Monkey Mia, invested time at my high school coaching our girls’ basketball team and assisted in the Brisbane Floods clean up with other alumni. I have worked with young people for seven years in the role of coach, educator, ISS educator, ESL teacher, au pair, relief coordinator and camp counsellor. As for the future, I have aspirations to continue my studies however I am undecided on which major and have goals to live in five different countries by the time I am 25 years old. And hopefully in the more recent future I am fortunate enough to see you get oatmeal slapped on your face, sing arm in arm with you and your friends, discover something about yourself and search for our lost water bottles together. See you never 🙂
Fun Facts and Stories (come and chat to me about them):
- One time I was too excited and ate too much at an ‘All you can eat Restaurant’ and threw it all back up
- Majority of my clothing costs less than $5 each or was exchanged with someone for other clothes
- One time I wore free dress to school on a normal school uniform day and teachers laughed at me
- Briefly lived in a caravan park as a child
- When I was five I told everyone I wanted to be a ballerina and spun around. I spun so hard that I smacked my head into a wall and that ended my career in ballet
- I have bungee jumped and sky dived and enjoy challenging my once fear of heights
- I will live with otters
- I was a DJ at basketball games and got paid with subway
- Once I got chased by a duck and stumbled
- I am pretty good at mahjong, you’ll have no chance
- I once lost my wallet and ran away from a kind stranger attempting to return it because I thought they were following me
- A sea lion sneezed in my face when I was swimming in the ocean
- For a long period of my life I believed it was okay to eat with my hands at the dinner table
- My grandfather owned a monkey that sat on his shoulder
- I have driven the world’s longest straight road
- On a regular day back home in Brisbane I would have breakfast three times a day
- Like every year, I love my mum
