David is a companion for the SA CQ.
1. What drew you to CQ, and what do you love most about
your involvement?
There is no doubting that cancer is a terrible illness for anyone
but I could not imagine going through anything worse as a child. I
wanted to help sick children have the same experiences as other
children their own age. It is cool to give the kids a break from
their treatment, from hospitals and enable them to be kids
again.
2. What have you learnt most about yourself from your
involvement?
I learnt that there are too many little things in life that I worry
about and instead I should just enjoy life and most importantly
have as much fun as possible.
3. What personality traits do you feel you use by
volunteering?
Camp Quality has definitely brought out character traits I did not
know I had. My child-like streak comes out on camp and you remember
how much fun it is to be young. There seems to be quite a strong
cross dressing trait amongst male companions that they try to pass
off with the excuse that "It's for the kids" (Rob Thomas,
'05).
4. What's a CQ moment you treasure?
I treasure all the smiles and the laughs. It is great to see the
campers letting their hair down, forgetting their illness and just
cutting loose and having an awesome time. But if I had to choose
just one it would have to be Aaron Landorf with his hairy legs
wearing a mini dress and Christian's E.T. impersonation in a video
made by the campers at Nunyara Conference Centre in Belair. I still
watch the video from time to time for a good laugh.
5. What do you love to laugh about?
Well at the moment at work I find myself laughing lots about
Australian rhyming slang, ridiculous e-mails between colleagues and
table tennis with the lads. I never thought that table tennis would
become the highlight of my day and provide us all with so many
laughs and good times. It's the small things in life huh?
6. What are you optimistic about?
I am optimistic that as science and technology develops into the
future a cure for more types of cancer will be discovered and until
then Camp Quality will continue to bring hope and happiness to the
lives of children and their families living with cancer through
bigger, better camps and more fundraising.
7. What would you say to someone considering joining the
'CQ family'?
Get in to it anyway you can. There are so many ways that anyone of
any age can help out and get so, so much out of it. Before you know
it Camp Quality and the friends you make through it will become a
big part of your life and you will find yourself doing whatever you
can to rearrange your schedule or skip uni and exam study period as
it was in my case to attend camp.
And lastly do you have a joke to share?
Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in
the family business. When he found out he was going to inherit a
fortune when his father died, he decided he needed a wife with
which to share his
fortune.
One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful
woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. 'I
may look like just an ordinary man,' he said to her, but in just a
few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit $20 million.'
Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days
later, she became his stepmother. Women are so much better at
financial planning than men.