Kris Carver:

A sure sign of Caloundra Christian College coming of age is when a second-generation student graduates! Kris Carver was a student at CalCC from 1988 to 1992 and his daughter, Lily, graduated Year 12 last year.

Kris studied at CalCC from Year 7 through to Year 11 and has many happy memories of being in a small class of friends that were so close they felt like family. One of his funniest memories is fainting in the fume cupboard in the Chemistry lab. Thankfully, another student, Kym, caught him before he hit the floor!

Kris is a sports lover and PE was his favourite subject. Some of his sporting experiences helped teach him to believe in himself and not to be afraid to give things a go. 

‘We got to do lots things at CalCC because the school was small. We were encouraged to have a go. For example, I competed in the Regional high jumps, even though my best jump was only at the starting height for qualification. In a larger school, I might not have had that opportunity. We were always encouraged to have a go and because of that, my sense of self-belief was never taken away from me,’ explains Mr Carver. 

Kris lives and works on the Sunshine Coast and describes it as one of the top spots on the planet.

‘We live at Moffat Beach, which is just beautiful,’ says Kris. ‘The Sunshine Coast is home and I just love it. I encouraged my daughter (who graduated from CalCC last year) to take a year to travel and see what a big world there is out there but this place is hard to beat.’

Kris started his career working in IT with Telstra and worked his way into a variety of leadership roles. Eight years ago, he bought into a business, ENTAG, with a friend. Kris took the early lesson of being brave enough to give everything a go and made a career move that would wind up improving the lives of lots of people.

‘I could have been a corporate-lifer but I decided I wanted to have a bigger impact and so I jumped. I left a successful career and took a chance. ENTAG had about five employees back then. Today, I’m the CEO of a team of around 130 people, 60 from right here on the Coast. I am proud that I get to provide opportunities, growth and development for people on the Sunshine Coast and beyond. I love to see them go on and do great things, either with ENTAG or somewhere else, as a direct result of having the opportunities we could give them,’ says Kris.

ENTAG is a technology services business delivering innovative solutions to customers including state and local government and large enterprise. They help make technology work for the end-user. As an example, ENTAG works with Qld Police and Qld Ambulance, ensuring their end point devices work well for them in the field.

‘There isn’t a single officer that isn’t touched by what we do.’

When asked what advice he would give students at CalCC, Kris says:

‘Expand your horizons. School is just a small microcosm of life. Don’t think that the size of your school or class limits you. There are pros and cons to being in a small school but run with the pros. Focus on the benefits, there are plenty. Grab the pros and gain strength from them.’

We are so proud of Kris’ contribution to the world.