Class of 2025
Alumni Profile: Choosing Courage
Joshua Davison
Currently at
ADFA Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra
Degree
Bachelor of Cyber Security & Computing
Service Branch
Australian Army
LIFE AFTER OPAC – From the classroom to the parade ground
Since graduating at the completion of 2025, Joshua Davison was accepted into and sent to the Australian Defence Force Academy — one of the world’s leading military academies and a tri-service environment where Air Force, Navy, and Army personnel live and train side by side.
After completing initial training, Joshua has been undertaking a range of military training and education while simultaneously working towards a Bachelor of Cyber Security and Computing through the University of New South Wales. As a member of the Army, he will be completing consistent training across a wide range of bases throughout the year, all aimed at continuously broadening his awareness, skills, and knowledge of what it means to serve.
THE JOURNEY – Patience, persistence, and pushing limits
The journey to reach ADFA was long and demanding, involving a multitude of interviews, examinations, and prerequisites, with each stage presenting its own challenges. It required not only patience and persistence, but a high level of fitness and mental resilience, both of which were tested consistently throughout the selection process.
Gaining entry into the UNSW degree also demanded meeting the ATAR requirements, alongside years of demonstrated leadership experience accumulated over many years.
It was a process that pushed me consistently, but one that I am incredibly proud to have seen through to the end — and one I would highly recommend others take.
REFLECTING ON OPAC – The value that carried through
The core value that has stayed with Joshua most throughout both his school and post-school journey is courage. It has shown up in many different forms, whether continuing to push forward through the application process during its most difficult and uncertain moments, or finding the resolve to keep going during demanding field exercises and training.
Courage has allowed him to experience things he never thought possible, and to grow in ways he did not expect. This value was deeply fostered during his time at OPAC, where he was consistently encouraged to take every opportunity presented and to engage with it at the fullest level he possibly could. That mindset has carried through into everything he has pursued since.
Looking ahead, courage remains the lens through which Joshua intends to approach his career and life. In a profession like the military, it is not simply a virtue, it is a requirement. It means making hard decisions under pressure, standing by your convictions when it would be easier not to, and continuing to serve others even when the personal cost is high. But beyond the uniform, Joshua believes courage is what separates a life that is merely safe from one that is genuinely meaningful.
I want to keep choosing the harder path — not for the sake of difficulty, but because that is where real growth lives. Courage, to me, is a commitment to never stop becoming.
God bless,
Mrs Maria Mertzanakis
Deputy Head of Senior School – Teaching and Learning