Bhosten Savage was born on Thursday Island.
But like many, his family relocated to Brisbane in pursuit of education.
"We moved down to Cairns for a bit and then Dad sort of realised that there was limited opportunity there for me and my two brothers," he said.
"He moved us all down to Brisbane for school."
The experience sparked a passion in the young Poruma, Mauar, Erub, Bidjara and Dunghutti man.
A graduate of the Queensland University of Technology, Bhosten completed a Bachelor of Urban Development (Honours) and a Masters of Project Management. He then began a career in Project Engineering, furthering his goal of reshaping the delivery of infrastructure to remote and regional communities.
"By connecting communities via infrastructure, you're giving more opportunity to people in remote and regional communities," he explained.
"A lot of people [from those communities] have had to move to urban areas or big cities. They've had to make that sacrifice."
Bhosten acknowledges the further impact of relocating on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the impact on their connection to Country and culture.
He believes improving infrastructure in remote and regional areas is mutually beneficial.
"If urban areas are better connected to even just regional areas, it allows reciprocal benefit. Kids don't have to move to urban areas and still are able to have that cultural connection that may be missing in big city life," he said.
"Aspects of health and education that may be missing in regional areas can be gained, it opens up a lot of opportunity."
Currently, much of the support funnelled to remote or regional communities is technology-focused.
"Technology is moving really fast, some communities can get things like Starlink but often that infrastructure step is missed," Bhosten explained.
"You may have that technology but your roads might not be sealed. So you can't drive on the road some times in the year.
"There are a lot of fundamental issues that building better infrastructure solves for long term benefit."
He says infrastructure is a priority mainly for metropolitan areas.
"Billions of dollars are spent in infrastructure [for metropolitan areas], there are constantly upgrades on highways between Brisbane and Gold Coast," he said.
"That money would go a long way elsewhere, and make probably more of an impact in small communities.
"I want to be part of influencing those decisions and how those decisions get made."
In pursuit of a seat at the table, Bhosten has made history.
He is one of two Torres Strait Islander students awarded the prestigious Charlie Perkins Scholarship - winning alongside Badu, Mabuyag and Boigu Island woman Isobel Loban Yorkston.
The pair will be studying and living at the University of Oxford, England. It's one of the oldest universities in the world, but Bhosten and Isobel are the first Torres Strait Islanders to study at the institution in it's 900-year history.
Bhosten will relocate to Oxford to study a Master of Business Administration (MBA) full-time for a year.
"It's a bit daunting and nerve wracking to take on these institutions," he said.
"But I'm looking forward to the challenge ... I'm really excited to do my community proud, do my people proud."
It was an opportunity made possible through the Aurora Education Foundation.
"I went overseas with their UK study tour program and sort of realised it was possible," said Bhosten.
"I came back and started the process of application. I applied at the end of last year, I got on the shortlist, had to go for an interview and got the call in April."
Isobel and Bhosten will travel to England at the end of 2025 to begin their studies as part of the Charlie Perkins Scholarship. Source: Moment RF / Ian CuiYi/Getty Images
"In high school, and in study programs at the University of Sydney, I've learnt a lot about Charlie Perkins and his significance," he said.
"The namesake bears a lot of weight."
He says he isn't nervous to take up the opportunity, and is ready for the challenge.
"Obviously, people are scared of failure. But, I realised that a lot of people who came before me made compromises in their lives so that I could get to this point and I could go fearlessly at it," he said.
I always look at it as, if I faced these challenges with fear, or these processes or institutions with fear, I'm letting them down.
It's a piece of advice he hopes to share.
"Remembering that the sacrifice is definitely meagre compared to what the generation before, and four or five generations back went through," he said.
"Sacrifices should be accepted and that fear you're feeling, it's probably the correct feeling because that means you're going to do something.
"A lot of people have gone before you to set the platform for you to succeed."
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