CQU alumnus recognised for giving back

11 February 2021

CQUniversity alumnus Gordon Barratt has been recently recognised for his role in supporting children with a disability and mental health.

Mr Barratt is the founder' CEO and a Board Member of Connect Community + Kids (CCK) – a broad-based movement that connects mentors with disadvantaged children and aims to end the cycle of disability within a community – and his ongoing contribution to the organisation was acknowledged with the presentation of a Medal of the Order of Australia.

Mr Barratt' OAM' founded CCK five years ago' however started volunteering in this space some 12 years ago' when a sudden desire to 'get involved in the community' washed over him.

'I happened upon a brilliant surf-based charity called The Board Meeting who are based on the Sunshine Coast. I joined their committee and spent the next 10 years directly linking disable children and families in need with the services that they required'' Mr Barratt explained.

Through his involvement with The Board Meeting' Mr Barratt said he found that the single biggest impediment to families being able to thrive was being stuck in a cycle of disadvantage.

'While there were programs and groups out there trying to address these issues' there weren't any proactive solutions aimed at tackling the problem in its totality'' he explained.

'After much investigation we felt that the only economic way to target this problem in an effective manner was through mentoring.'

And so CCK was born.

As well as being a charity worker' the happily married father and grandfather is also a successful stockbroker and credits some of his professional successes to the CQUniversity Bachelor of Business degree that he completed in 1994.

'I'm a partner in a stockbroking business but stepped back from management a couple of years ago'' he explained.

'My CQU degree gave me the well-rounded education base that I needed to work within the stockbroking industry'' Mr Barratt said.

'The skill sets needed to work in the industry are very broad. You need a working knowledge in economics' law' accountancy and computing' all of which were covered off in my business degree.'

The former Rockhampton-based CQUniversity alumnus said he chose to do a Bachelor of Business purely due to career opportunities.

'I was realistic enough to recognise that the most likely chance I had to be able to achieve gainful employment post my degree would probably be in the business or accounting sector'' he explained.
'It wasn't a passion in that area that drove me to enrol in a business degree but rather a need to support a growing family. In hindsight I'm very happy that I chose that path as it's led me to a fulfilling career in many different areas.'