Ed Sangjitphun
I am so proud to have the opportunity to work alongside other fellow Thai expats who are very successful and have achieved so much in their life here in Australia”
Born and raised in Suphan Buri province, a rural countryside in central Thailand until attending senior high school years at King’s College (โรงเรียน ภ.ป.ร. ราชวิทยาลัย ในพระบรมราชูปถัมภ์) before coming to Brisbane in 1996 as an international student.
I have been working in banking and financial services since graduating from the University of Queensland. I currently work as a Senior Financial Adviser for BT Financial Group as part of Westpac Banking Corporation within its Small to Medium Enterprise (SME)/Business Banking. Working in as a financial adviser fulfills my passion of helping others. My personal interest is politics and I was delighted to become the first Thai to run for Queensland State Election in November last year. I enjoy my football (soccer) and have been playing the sport all my life. I am also a passionate chook lover and currently breeding Japanese bantams for my pastime.
I always enjoy being amongst people and love talking to others because I feel I get to learn best about life experience this way. I enjoy drinking tea and can easily fall in love with desserts from various cuisines.
I am proud to hold my role as Vice President of the TAAQ because I am so proud to have the opportunity to work alongside other fellow Thai expats who are very successful and have achieved so much in their life here in Australia. Our management committee, who volunteers their time and effort with enormous generosity, shares the same vision in helping the TAAQ become purposeful in delivering its objectives to all the Thai-Australians living here in Queensland. One objective, in particular, is of my personal interest in assisting Thai migrants to integrate into their local community here in Queensland, whereby and not only they can become a proud but also contributing member of the community.
The work that I do for TAAQ gives me better understanding of people’s needs and aspirations. I believe this has been the key to why TAAQ having been able to engage effectively with every community and more importantly, to deliver on its missions. Because ‘knowledge is power’, therefore, I feel the importance of TAAQ in being the provider of further information/knowledge to people for better understanding of Thai culture, customs and tradition as well as how these aspects can be shared to help bring about a strong, harmonious and multicultural society.
As a migrant, I can perhaps say that all migrants chose to live in Australia because the community here offers a better life. However, it is always a difficult challenge for any migrant to settle in and become integrated into their community right away after arrival. I can vividly recall my struggle during my first couple of years after arriving in Brisbane where I was unable to speak much English and did not know who or where to turn to for help and guidance. Looking at the works of the TAAQ, I often wish that it would have been a big help if I knew about TAAQ back then.
I immensely admire the dedication and contribution from every TAAQ member and feel very proud that we all share the belief that giving back to the community is one of the greatest gifts we seek to provide.