Pro Vice-Chancellor (Programs and Pathways), Sean Brawley, has worn many hats throughout his life. Here he reveals some of the incredible events of his life.

When introducing himself to students starting a new unit, Sean Brawley would present a slide. It asked his students to pick which one of the following statements about their lecturer was true:

A. Sean has been struck by lightning
B. Sean once held a world record
C. Sean has met Bill Clinton
D. Sean has met Mikhail Gorbachev
E. Sean has starred in a movie

Whatever answer the students picked they were correct: our Pro Vice-Chancellor (Programs and Pathways) has done it all!

The answers to options A and B both relate to sport, which has remained one of Sean’s scholarly interests as a historian. The lightning strike occurred at a US Rugby Sevens tournament in Annapolis Maryland in 2000.

“The event ended up as a story in The Atlantic Monthly though the journalist edited me out of history!” Sean recalls.

And the world record?

“Marathon cricket. In Year 11 we played cricket non-stop for a week. It was pretty tough. We got into the Guinness Book of World Records though we did not hold the title for long,” he says.

At the core of Sean’s experiences is a sense of community service.

“I grew up in Bundeena. It was a small community and my family instilled the importance of giving back. I joined the Bushfire Brigade (now Rural Fire Service) when I was 14. My first fire was in 1980 at Waterfall. Five men died that night,” Sean explains.

The Gray’s Point fire in 1983 was another memorable event, and close call for Sean.

“The Heathcote truck turned left, and the Bundeena truck turned right. Fifteen minutes later three of the Heathcote crew were dead. There but for the grace of God,” he recalls.

At 16, Sean joined his local surf club and ended up many years later as the Honorary Historian to Surf Life Saving Australia. Here he met Director of Campus Wellbeing and Support Services, Darren Peters, who was beginning his love of soft sand running, which would lead him to represent Australia in competitions internationally.

“Yes, I knew Darren Peters in his former life!”

Sean’s service to the community also saw 10 years in the Australian Defence Force culminating with time in the RAAF Active Reserve.

In another secret life, an early mentor was the artist and filmmaker George Gittoes.

“For my brother and our friends, George opened up a world of possibility and an enduring fondness for the arts. We also met many of George’s friends like Martin Sharp. I remember for my 21^st trying to convince George that he should bring his house guest Doc Neeson to my party. He didn’t,” he says.

It was Sean’s association with Gittoes that led to option E.

“My one and only starring role in a movie was one of George’s early films. I did, however, continue to act, notably with the Sutherland Theatre Company, and ended up doing some directing,” Sean explains.

Gittoes also allowed Sean and his friends to use his equipment to make and edit their own films.

“I later called on that experience when I led a flipped learning project in Modern History and Politics. I still enjoy cutting film (though digitally these days) and my last project was for my brother’s 50^th birthday. It was a 28-minute extravaganza that showed how his birth in 1968 had inspired Roman Polanski to make Rosemary’s Baby!” Sean says.