Alumnus of the Year

After being involved in a car accident when he was a toddler, which left him paralysed from the chest down, Ben started playing wheelchair rugby in Coffs Harbour when he was 16. That first contact with peers in a team sport setting changed his life.

“I had never been connected to networks for other disabled people. Those men not only taught me about wheelchair rugby but also about living with disability, navigating the world.”

While competing for NSW, Ben studied a Bachelor of Psychology with Honours at Coffs Harbour campus.

“My time as a student at Southern Cross was fantastic. I thrived in that environment where I could throw myself into a degree that I enjoyed without having to leave those support networks of friends and family that were so important to me.”

“The University was really supportive, flexible and accommodating when I had to travel around for competitions.”

After graduating, Ben moved to Brisbane in 2010 with the goal of being selected in the Australian Steelers team for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. In just two years, he not only made it to London, but his team went undefeated in competition to become Paralympic gold medal lists.

“The Paralympic village was like being on another planet where there's nobody around except disabled people. It was just the complete opposite of what you experience in your day-to-day life, where you're trying to navigate a world that's not designed for you. I felt there that disability was just part of our identity, and everybody celebrated it.”

In 2014, Ben was honoured with the Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of his remarkable service to sport.

Looking back and remembering his childhood, Ben believes disabled people are in a better position nowadays, both in terms of acceptance and awareness. However, there is still work to be done.

Those barriers transcend Paralympic sports and, in particular, wheelchair rugby

“When people see wheelchair rugby, they fall in love with it and want to get involved. However, the biggest barrier is people not knowing that it exists. We have the platform of the Paralympic Games every four years, but outside of that, most sports for disabled athletes and para-sports don't attract much attention or financial support.”

Hopefully, the upcoming Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games will flip that coin.