Jacob, Sam and William Rodgers
The Rodgers’ boys graduated from PAC in 2004 (Jacob), 2006 (Sam), 2010 (William). We
have all pursued different career paths and adventures but one thing we all have in common
is that our blood will always run yellow for Cranmer.
Here’s a little summary of what each of us have been up to since graduating from PAC.
Jacob Rodgers Year 12 2004
After graduating from PAC in 2004, I travelled for an extended period throughout Europe and
Canada which was a great experience. It meant essentially swapping the Penrith Valley for
the Loire Valley, the only difficulty was it was a bit hard to regularly get to Panthers' home
games from France.
When I returned from my travels I commenced a double degree in Communications and Law
at Macquarie University.
Shortly after I commenced my studies, I pursued my life long interest in radio by presenting a
weekly afternoon radio show called "Westbound" on local radio station WOW FM. I
presented the show with two other former PAC students, Mark McKeown (now producer/
reporter for Channel 7) and Gemma Seymour (now Gunning) (currently works as reporter on
Radio 2UE). The problem was Mark and I liked the sound of our own voice too much so
quickly had to develop a system so we wouldn't talk over the top of each other.
In 2007 I wrote to the program director of 2UE stating I was so keen to get a foot in the door,
that I would clean the toilets at the station. Thankfully he didn't take me up on my offer but I
soon found myself getting up at 3am and answering the phones on Don Burke's weekend
breakfast show. That lead to becoming a regular on air character during Don's program. I then
went onto be a producer then executive producer at 2UE. I worked as an executive
producer for many presenters including Mike Carlton, John Stanley, Steve Price, Fatty Vautin,
Greg Alexander and many others. This work involved writing the scripts/editorials for
presenters and organising the interviews/content for the program. I worked as a producer at
2UE until 2012 when I graduated from Macquarie University with an Honours degree in Law
and Communications.
In 2012 I started my legal career by working a small firm under a litigation partner. This was a
great start as it meant getting "hands on" experience by appearing in a number of varied
Courts in respect of a numerous areas of law, such as criminal, commercial, family law. In
2013 I joined a large firm in Sydney, Kemp Strang where I now work as litigation lawyer. I now
predominantly deal with commercial disputes and banking matters. But the great part about
my job is that I still get to spend a lot of time in Court and act for some interesting clients. Last
year I ran a matter in the Federal Court in Melbourne and had a few memorable victories in
the NSW Supreme Court.
In 2012 I enrolled in my Masters of Law at Sydney University which I will complete at the end
of the year. I'm currently living in Elizabeth Bay and attending York St, Anglican Church in the
City.
Sam Rodgers Year 12 2006
Upon leaving school in 2006 I was accepted to the University of Sydney into a Bachelor of
Engineering with an athletic scholarship. The first year of university was a tough year as I was
still struggling to figure out what I wanted to do and my athletic career came to premature end
with chronic knee injuries that still trouble me. I decided to defer my studies, travel the world
to try and find some direction in my career now that athletics wasn’t an option.
In the beginning of 2008 I began working for the Royal Life Saving Society Australia in an
administration role. Later that year I spent 5 months in Europe and North America and really
fell in love with travel. I have since be overseas 6 times and will continue to travel at every
opportunity. The concept of saving money and managing my own money was of great interest
to me and in the beginning of 2009 I transferred into a Bachelor of Commerce.
While studying, I continued my work with Royal Life Saving. I trained under an accountant,
managing accounts payable/receivable, preparing financial statements and completing
budgeting/forecasting. Working for a small non-for-profit organisation was very rewarding and
I got to experience a diverse range of activities. I got to experience national events, working
with Olympic athletes as well as traveling to Vietnam for conferences. Also, completing my
daily finance tasks was great help to my studies as I could see the relevance of what I was
learning. I spent the 3-4 years completing my study while working 30-40 hours a week.
In July 2012, I graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce with majors in Finance and
International Business. With a degree under my belt and 5 years working experience, I looked
to move into the banking sector.
In February 2013, I began working with ING Direct as a Middle Market Trader. I currently
trade fixed and floating wholesale term deposits. I maintain a portfolio of 600 clients with total
value of around $2.7 billion. I really enjoy working in the banking sector and I continue to
learn and develop every day.
In 2013 I also met my now fiancée and I will be getting married in November this year.
William Rodgers Year 12
I completed my HSC in 2010 and began a Bachelor of Arts at The University of Western
Sydney at the start of 2011. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with my life at that point,
so I decided to study subjects that interested me. This resulted in my majoring in Psychology.
After studying a year and half directly after school combined with working at the Lapstone
Hotel, I decided that I deserved a break and took a semester off to travel. I travelled around
Europe for two months with one of my mates in the second half of 2012, travelling through
Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain and France just to name a few.
This was the best experience of my life and I would recommend it to anyone. Fortunately,
some of my HSC Beginner’s French came back to me while I was in France so the language
barrier was not too much of an issue.
I still regularly see many of my mates from school and we have had a yearly vacation
together every year since we left
school. In February this year we
all went on a cruise to Vanuatu
and New Caledonia and are
currently planning our next trip.
When I went back to University at
the start of 2013, I decided that I
wanted to study primary school
teaching. I am currently finishing
my Bachelor of Arts and
commencing my Masters of
Education at the start of 2015.