In Real Life with Sonia Cuff—Emergency services volunteer

Years ago, my family and I lived in Australia for my job at the time, but my recollections of Australia are so much more than just work. The people and countryside remain important to me, and I’m so thankful that this week’s guest does her best to protect both.?A senior cloud advocate by day, in her time outside of work, Sonia Cuff is a volunteer in the State Emergency Services (SES), which exists to help support emergency service needs in communities all over Australia. SES volunteers help police do forensic searching for evidence, search for missing people—especially through bushlands and forests—and conduct severe weather response. They even help homeowners rebuild in the case of natural disasters.

Sonia told me she got her start in emergency services in her hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand, where there had been a history of debilitating earthquakes. Her employer sponsored her to be trained to rescue people from collapsed buildings, and though she didn’t get the call while living in New Zealand, she took her skills with her when relocating to Australia.

In her time with the SES, Sonia has helped with an array of emergencies, from missing persons to responding to storms, and is always touched by the people she meets in the midst of tragedy.

“That’s the power of that sort of a service. When people are just so overwhelmed by what's happened in their lives that they don't know what the next step is, they just need a little bit of love and guidance and someone to say, ‘it's okay, this is what we're gonna do now.’ Volunteering has taught me so much about people,” Sonia said.

She’s put that people-knowledge to work on the other end of the service as well, as a trainer for volunteers. “Sometimes we're afraid of failing as opposed to when you're a kid and you literally fail your way to success when you're learning to ride a bike. The different styles of how people learn and challenges that they might have as adults learning are still in my toolkit today and relevant to the work I do.”

While we were on the topic of emergencies, I asked Sonia what we should put in our emergency kits at home. Rather than give a laundry list of what to include in emergency kits, Sonia said that the most important thing is to include items that you need to be self-sufficient for several days—and have your emergency kit in an easily accessible location. You just never know when you’re going to need it. Sonia, the work you do is so important to the people you’ve helped in your more than thirteen years of volunteering. Thank you for giving back and serving your community, and for teaching the next generation of volunteers. Your legacy of helping and teaching will empower others to continue giving back in the future.

Watch this short video of our conversation to learn more about Sonia and her volunteer work!?