My name is Matthew Boland and I am thirty three years old. I was born in Sydney, Australia and grew up there, finishing my schooling at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill in 1994. I went to university after school and enrolled in a science degree. After a couple of years I deferred my studies and began to work full-time in the hospitality industry. After about seven years of working full-time I felt unfulfilled, so I resigned and set out to walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostella. After the hectic activity of being an employee, this three month journey gave me the opportunity for reflection; and it was while spending some time on retreat after completing the walk, with some Benedictine monks in a small town called Rabanal whom I had met on my walk, that I began to think seriously about the religious life. Upon returning to Australia, I finished my science degree and began a diploma in Classics while visiting various religious congregations. I was first attracted to the Dominican Order through meeting the Dominican chaplain of my university. He was very visible in his habit, which he wore at the campus every day; this was a great witness to his consecration to God and to our faith. Also, the Dominican fusion of the contemplative and active lives for the sake of our own sanctity and that of our neighbour seemed to me to closely resemble the life of Jesus and his apostles. Also significant was my father's deep love of the teachings of St Thomas which instilled in me a longing for veritas – truth, for which the world is in such desperate need, and which I know will be a life-long passion for me.