Old Flinderian Harrison Gentile graduated from Matthew Flinders Anglican College with the Class of 2020. He served as Year 12 College Captain alongside Holly Monroe; together they led the cohort with integrity and compassion through a challenging year shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In January 2026, Harrison returned to the College campus, this time to proudly join our staff team as a Primary Teacher.
In this Beyond Flinders profile, we asked Harrison to reflect on his time as a student and share some of the lessons learned through his tertiary studies and career roles across music, legal studies and education.
What does life look like for you now?
I am a passionate Primary Teacher who has been teaching at Immanuel Lutheran College. I am beyond excited to be joining the team at Flinders Primary School in 2026. I love life on the beautiful Sunshine Coast and feel incredibly grateful to call it home.
What achievements or opportunities have been significant for you since graduation?
Since graduating from Flinders, I have completed a Bachelor of Education (K–12 Teaching) and a Diploma in Legal Studies. Throughout my studies, I gained valuable experience working in education as a Primary Teacher Assistant at Suncoast Christian College, as well as a Music Tutor and College Accompanist at Immanuel Lutheran College. I have since completed two years of full-time teaching as a Primary Teacher at Immanuel Lutheran College. I am a lifelong learner and remain enthusiastic about ongoing professional growth and learning opportunities.
What was a favourite Flinders moment?
When I reflect on my time at Flinders, I am very grateful for the opportunities, experiences and community that helped me to become the person that I am today. I joined Flinders in Year 3 and my schooling years truly were some of the best years of my life. I got to come to school each day in an amazing environment, I was inspired to work hard and do my best both socially and academically, and I always felt part of something bigger than myself. It was from those early days as a Primary student at Flinders that I knew I wanted to become a teacher, and I’m proud to say that is now a reality, and it feels incredibly special to be living it at the place where it all began!
Do you have a particular role model from Flinders?
One of my key role models is Mrs Trudi Edwards, former Head of Primary, who has since moved on to a new professional chapter. As a young educator working with Primary students, I deeply admire the strong commitment to learning and student wellbeing that she fostered during her tenure at Flinders. Although I did not have the opportunity to work directly with her, I am inspired by her leadership, legacy and the genuine care and dedication she brought to her role. I aspire to embody these qualities in my own career in education.
How easy was it to decide what to do in life?
Flinders prepared me so well for life beyond the College that, thanks to the excellent teaching staff, I actually managed to do quite well at school! The challenge came afterwards. I found myself torn between following my heart and absolute passion for teaching, and pursuing a career path that I thought would keep those around me happy. Pursuing a career in education and following that calling was certainly worthwhile.
What advice would you share with current students?
I was humbled when Mrs Anita Gibson, Deputy Principal - Student Engagement, reached out and asked me to speak to the Year 12s at their 2025 Valedictory Dinner about my time at Flinders and experiences since graduating. I shared these three pieces of advice, which I received from people in the Flinders community throughout my schooling years and I have carried into daily life since.
1. Count your smiles instead of your tears, your courage instead of your fears.
As you leave school, there will no doubt be challenges, setbacks and moments of uncertainty. This piece of advice reminds you to shift your focus: to celebrate the joy, the friendships, the laughter and the moments that make life special, instead of dwelling on regrets or difficulties. Beyond school, life won’t always be easy, but choosing to measure your journey by your courage – the times you stood up, tried something new or kept going despite fear – will give you the strength to keep moving forward.
2. Give up to grace. The ocean takes care of each wave until it gets to shore.
This phrase speaks to trust, faith and the ability to let go of what is outside of your control. Just like each wave is guided safely to shore, you too are carried by something bigger than yourself. Whether that’s God, your community or the simple rhythm of life itself. As you step into the unknown, there will be times when you can’t control the outcome. In those moments, let go of the pressure to have it all figured out, and trust that things will fall into place. Grace will carry you, if you let it.
3. “The Road Not Taken” – A poem by Robert Frost.
My homeroom mentor gave me this poem (see below) as a parting gift and it holds a powerful truth about the journey ahead, especially the last stanza. Standing at the crossroads of life, you will often be faced with choices. Sometimes between the familiar and the unknown, the easy path or the challenging one. The poem reminds us that taking “the road less travelled” requires courage, but it is often those bold, unconventional decisions that shape us the most. My advice to graduates is that as you move into your next chapter, remember that your choices will define your story. Don’t be afraid to walk a different path, to chase your passions and to step into opportunities that others might overlook. That will make all the difference.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
