Interview
Tackling the big issues Sophie and Cristian 2019 School Captains
When Alan Attwood (OCG 1974) was a student at Carey, he dreamt of becoming an actor, and was a prominent presence in Carey’s productions. He was talked out of this idea and ended up completing an Arts Honours degree at the University of Melbourne, where he stumbled upon a passion for journalism. After working for The Age, travelling the world and writing a couple of novels, Alan became the editor of The Big Issue, a role he filled for 10 years. This magazine creates employment for people who are unable to access mainstream jobs, not only providing monetary support to people who desperately need it, but also helping to give them a sense of purpose and membership of a community. Alan thrived on building relationships with the vendors and knowing that he was making a difference to their lives. In 2015, he was awarded the Carey Medal for his outstanding and tireless service to helping those in need. Alan recently talked to this year’s School Captains, Sophie and Cristian, about his time at Carey, his work with The Big Issue, and some of the lessons he has learnt along the way.
4 | Torch
Cristian: What is your best memory of Carey? Alan: I remember I caused a bit of controversy in Year 12, to the dismay of my parents and some teachers, because I devoted much of second term to a big stage production. I was playing Mark Twain, so I had to be on stage and talk an awful lot, and some people, like my parents, thought this was a very irresponsible thing to be doing in the middle of my Year 12. I remember after one production, a woman who I didn’t know – I’m guessing she was someone’s
mum – came up to me afterwards and basically said, ‘Well if you can do that, you’ll have no troubles with your Year 12 exams’, and I remember thinking that is the opposite way of looking at things, compared to what everyone else says. So even though I didn’t know this woman, I wanted to give her a big hug. But I think that was partly why when I actually finished with Year 12, if you had asked me what I wanted to do, I possibly would’ve said, ‘I want to be an actor.’ Except I didn’t really go on with that, I was talked out of that idea and perhaps I regretted that a little later on.
