Marcel’s struggles become his salvation
As the Salvation Army celebrates its 150th anniversary this month, Salvos employee and UQ graduate Marcel Noronha has reflected on how he found his own redemption. Now a psychologist for the south Brisbane region, former Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences student Mr Noronha is also the head coach of UQ's rugby league team. Yet only a few years ago the talented young man was his own worst enemy, dropping out of university twice, losing his job and dabbling in drugs and crime. "From Grade 10 onwards I had a huge chip on my shoulder, was engaging in extreme risk-taking, drugs and basically couch-surfing," Mr Noronha says. Born in Germany and partially raised in Indonesia, Mr Noronha had a childhood few could envy. After relocating to Sydney, the Noronha family suffered a huge loss when father Eugene - a former UQ robotics lecturer - died when Marcel was aged five. With mother Lala unable to speak English at the time, the Noronhas became stuck in the poverty cycle and were moved around between low-income communities.
