Thom Woodroofe

Thom Woodroofe (BA(Global) 2010). Photo: Sarah Hunt/Hidden Documentary

Weekly plane travel, co-founding an independent think-tank for young people, radio appearances about foreign policy, setting up Global Voices, which funds foreign affairs opportunities for young Australians, Young Victorian of the Year 2009, honours graduate... they’re all part of the extraordinary life of the driven Thom Woodroofe.

Age: 22.

Turning down a Defence Academy scholarship and the opportunity to become a pilot, Thom chose to enrol in a Bachelor of Arts (Global) at Monash in 2008.  He wanted to engage in what he felt most passionate about – foreign affairs and harnessing the talents and ideals of young Australians.

“The main thing I’ve found it not to be bound by barriers,” Thom said.  “Don’t say ‘That’s too difficult, people will think I’m crazy’ or ‘no-one will support a young person doing that’.”

Thom felt that young people were not well served by pigeonholing ideas as left, right or centre. After checking out the other political clubs, he decided to establish his own.

In March 2009 Left Right - the first non-partisan think tank - was born with the motto “Hard Heads, Soft Hearts and Young Minds.”  The initiative strives for a society that seeks out and embraces the ideas of young people.  The organisation is going from strength to strength, with more than 60 staff in four states.

The group writes opinion pieces and blog posts, organises dialogue events, conferences, mentoring programs and works with high school students.

Thom stepped aside from the day to day management of Left Right in September 2009 when he moved overseas but remains involved as a board member. His focus now is as a leader at Global Voices, which provides opportunities for young Australians to research, discuss, and contribute to foreign policy both at home and abroad.

“Each day is different.  One day I might be in a class or studying, the next I might be a television gig, working on a newspaper opinion piece or travelling overseas to attend a conference.  It is a rollercoaster, but I love it,” he said.

“My focus is on helping elevate the voices of those overlooked in the traditional diplomatic process – whether it is young people domestically or internationally. Ultimately, I would like to build on this on the world stage by helping countries or groups with little diplomatic capacity to have their voices heard in international forums.”

In whatever spare time he finds, Thom enjoys keeping up his private pilot lessons, cross country running, amateur rally car driving, and modern art. He also dreams of opening an organic restaurant.

Thom Woodroofe has come a long way from his upbringing on an isolated property in country Victoria.