Avionics Technician
Royal Australian Airforce
CBSHS 1986 - 1992
Corporal
Steven Graham is an Avionics Technician with the Royal Australian Airforce. He
has completed around thirty operational deployments, both within Australia and
overseas, including two deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan.
Steven
has also continued to have a distinguished sporting career. After he ceased competing as a sprinter three
years ago Steven became an international weightlifter. He has competed for Australia in two Oceania
championships (winning a bronze and a gold medal), a Pacific Rim Tournament
(bronze) and a World Cup (4th). He has also broken five state
records so far this year.
Steven
started at Clontarf Beach State High School in 1986 (in Year 8) and finished in
1992. He actually left CBSHS in Year 10
and worked for two years fulltime at the Castlemaine Perkins Brewery. He then returned to school to complete Year
11 and 12.
The
subject that most prepared Steven for his life after school was
maths. When he joined the Air Force and started his training at the RAAF School
of Technical Training in Wagga Wagga, NSW the first subject he studied was
maths. He says, “I know you hear a lot
that will you use maths in the real world but it really is true”.
The
time Steven spent on the athletics track impacted his time at school the
most. He had a Science teacher called Mr Rod Shelton, who introduced him
to athletics which he excelled at, leading him to go on to represent CBSHS and subsequently
the regional team. It also taught him the lasting value of leading a physically
healthy lifestyle.
His
best memory from his time at CBSHS was when he was presented with his prefect
badges. He remembers that it was a very proud moment and probably his
first taste at being a leader and a mentor, something that has held him in good
stead for his role in the ADF.
After
leaving school Steven had a couple of warehouse jobs that didn’t require much
thinking but paid the bills. He says “I was a late bloomer, my light bulb moment
didn’t occur until I was 27 years old. I
had a one year old daughter, saw her birth certificate, it read Father’s
occupation as storeman. I knew at that moment that I wanted to achieve
more with my life and it was then I realised what I wanted to do. I
joined the Royal Australian Air Force as an Avionics Technician”.
Steven’s
advice to his 16 year old self would be to learn to hear people. Not just
listen, but really hear them. Communication is one of the most important
aspects of life. Get it early. Set
yourself a realistic goal and work towards it. At the same time, live in
the moment and experience all you can, have no regrets.
If
Steve had his time at CBSHS again he would focus more on his school work as a
senior. He says “We had some
amazing teachers back then, but I was applying myself mainly to my sporting
endeavours. In saying that, everything I did from CBSHS and through my
adult life has lead me to where I am now. Which is very content, in a
good place where I can be a positive role model for my children in how I chose
to guide my career”.