7 minute read
Tackling the big issues
from Torch Autumn 2019
by CareyGrammar
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.
Sophie: What was the pathway you initially took after leaving Carey? Alan: I started out with an arts and law course at the University of Melbourne, and particularly in first year I did not have a terrific time. However, I started working for the university paper, Farrago, in my second year, and loved it. It hit me like a revelation that there were people out there who got paid to do this. Because I’d found what I thought might be an alternative career, I could then break the news to my parents that I was never going to be a High Court judge. But at least I did have some kind of an alternative. One thing I have always thought since then was that it is okay to make mistakes like that. The idea that you leave school and you have a very definite idea of what you want to do – it doesn’t always work that way. Sophie: Do you have any advice for current Carey students? Alan: Don’t believe for a minute that what happens at school or what happens in Year 12, or even what happens in the first year or two after you finish school, is going to shape your whole life, what you do or what you become. But also, don’t be afraid to aim high. If there is something you are interested in, whether it is a career or a hobby, it is never a bad idea to get in touch with people you like, or admire, or you think they are doing the work you think you’d like to do, and just say, ‘Look, can I hang around for a day, can I come have a cup of tea with you?’ Also, trust your instincts – listen to that little voice in your head. Cristian: What are you passionate about in journalism? Alan: I have worked in lots of different kinds of journalism, for newspapers and magazines, done a little radio work, and I have worked overseas. What I have been trying to do in the more recent decades is different kinds of journalism, like The Big Issue, because that struck me as an example of media
trying to do something positive. Media generally gets a fairly bad rap, and a lot that is quite well deserved. The Big Issue is an example of a media product that is actually trying to do some positive things, and actually help people who aren’t doing so well. I came to that having had quite a few years in the mainstream media, and that was fascinating. I am still involved in The Big Issue world, not so much in the magazine itself. I also do a couple of different types of volunteering work. If you look at my career, it seems to have these odd little diversions quite regularly. I think it is quite a healthy thing to get yourself involved in different sorts of things. Cristian: Building on that, did you develop any relationships with the vendors at The Big Issue? Alan: Oh yes, I would say that the most rewarding thing about that time at The Big Issue, and it continues, is getting to know some of the people who sell the magazines. You realise that it is very wrong to imagine that they are all the same kind of people. I still get frustrated when I hear people say, ‘Oh yeah The Big Issue, that’s the magazine sold by homeless people’. That’s far too simplistic. When I was editor, my favourite times were every second Friday morning when we’d have the launch for a new magazine. We’d have a breakfast for everyone to come along and see what was in the new magazine, and it was fascinating to mingle with these people and talk to them. Also, from my point of view as editor, it was extraordinarily valuable market research because the vendors know better than anyone what works, and what doesn’t work, out there on the street.
Sophie: Our school’s theme for this year is ‘Resilience’, and we’re interested when in your life you’ve experienced resilience, either personally or in your work? Alan: Well I’ve obviously also had personally challenging things that have happened in my lifetime. People have come and gone. That’s always difficult, the deaths of those close to you or in your family, but it’s all part of this fascinating thing called ‘life’. You realise that not everything is going to be wonderful, but all those things do assist you in growing a bit and also getting a better understanding of what goes on. The vendors are a wonderful example of resilience. When you hear some of their stories and you get an idea of what they’ve gone through, it’s remarkable how they keep going. It used to intrigue me that where I worked at The Big Issue was literally only a couple of blocks from the Melbourne Club. We are talking about entirely different worlds that co-exist. The great thing about journalism is that you can move through those different sections of society. Journalism can give you a front row seat in all sorts of things. It was terrific to feel that in The Big Issue I wasn’t so much a spectator anymore, I was actually trying to do something more practical and directly help people just a little. It was also a nice excuse to sit in the courtyard and have a yarn with a vendor and pretend that was real work!
