Hilda’s News
2025
Alumni Newsletter
Hilda’s News
The history book has landed! Alumni profile & book review Founders & Benefactors 2026 Save the Dates And more! Keeping you up to date with your Hilda’s community
December 2025
Table of Contents Community Engagement
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Alumni Reunion
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Save the Dates 2026
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Introducing the 2026 General Committee
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The Sounds of Summer - A New Life for the Basement
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Alumni Profile - Miranda Nation
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Founders & Benefactors
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St Hilda’s Staff Christmas Party
The Evolution of the Residential Tutor
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Communitas: The First 60 Years of St Hilda’s College Melbourne
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The End of an Era Happy Retirement to Carol Briggs
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Welcome, Farewell & Congratulations
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Stay in the loop
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Keep in touch
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Community Engagement And just like that 2025 is drawing to a close! One of the true joys for the Community Engagement Team this year has been the many opportunities we’ve had to connect with alumni and friends of St Hilda’s College from across the decades. Whether it’s been catching up with regular attendees at the various events throughout the year, or meeting alumni and friends who are reaching out for the first time in a while, it has been a privilege to connect with each and every one of you this year.
One of our goals next year will be to reconnect with the many lost alumni whose details in our database are no longer current so that we can continue to invite more and more of our wider community back to the College. If you have friends from St Hilda’s who you know would like to hear about events and College news, please encourage them to head to our website and update their details using the alumni contact form. St Hilda’s College will be closed over the festive period, from Tuesday 23rd December until Friday 2nd January. Wishing all of you, your nearest and dearest a safe, happy and relaxing holiday season.
Kate greeting Janice Littleton at the Marjorie Smart Oration earlier this year
Kate Abraham & Carly Damen Community Engagement Managers communitas@hildas.unimelb.edu.au
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Alumni Reunion
The 2005 contingent
It was a small but enthusiastic group that arrived at St Hilda’s on Saturday November 22nd for this year’s alumni reunion. The biggest contingent on the day was the 2005 group who were celebrating twenty years since they arrived as Freshers on College Crescent. We also welcomed Hildarians from the 2015 & 1985 cohorts, with Jan Milhinch & Jenny Hall celebrating 60 years!
The relaxed approach to the afternoon meant the group had plenty of time to wander through the College grounds to share memories and even check out some old rooms! Next year’s alumni reunion is locked in for Saturday July 18th 2026 so get it in the calendar early and start organising your Hilda’s friends!
Hilda’s News
Save the dates for 2026! Young Alumni Lawn Bowls Thursday February 5th, 2026 International Women’s Day Luncheon Wednesday March 11th, 2026 - The IWD Guest Speaker will be announced early next year Geelong St Hilda’s Reunion Sawyer’s Arms Tavern, Newtown Thursday March 19th, 2026 from 5pm9pm
Young Alumni Lawn Bowls event 2024
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Invitations and information about tickets to events will be sent by email. Please also encourage friends who may have dropped off the mailing list to get in touch so they don’t miss out! Marjorie Smart Oration Luncheon Saturday May 2nd, 2026 - The 2026 Oration will be delivered by Gillian Triggs AC St Hilda’s Alumni Reunion Saturday July 18th, 2026 (revised date) Gold Leaf Leaders’ Dinner Saturday September 12th, 2026 Founders & Benefactors Dinner Friday October 23rd, 2026
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STUDENT CLUB NEWS
Introducing the 2026 General Committee
It is our pleasure to introduce the 2026 St Hilda’s College Student Club GC:
Simon Krupka President
Ashna Sharma President
Angus Lisle Developmental Director
Georgia Shell Secretary
James Mulcahy Communitas Director
Johnny McKeague Cultural Director
Hannah Piper Female-identifying Sports Rep
Nishka Parekh International Representative
Jasmine Jordan Accessibility Consultant
Alex Wackrow Treasurer
Mia Lu Social Director
Rory Vial Male-identifying Sports Rep
Felix Burns Queer Representative
Emily Lee Cultural Diversity Convenor
Danielle Foster Sustainability Consultant
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The Sounds of Summer
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Transforming the Dining Hall basement into a new music & multi-purpose space
Students laughing, making memories and enjoying the long end of year break. Those will no doubt be the sounds of summer echoing across the country and overseas - wherever our current cohort find themselves between now and the start of 2026. Back here at 19-27 College Crescent, the sounds of summer are the same ones that arrive in late November each year - the sounds of hammers, drills and various other constructionrelated noises. This year’s summer works program is one that we have been looking forward to for some time now - the transformation of the Dining Hall basement, a.k.a The Basement Project! For much (if not all of its life), the basement has served the purpose of being a very handy storage space. But the time has come for it to have its moment in the spotlight as our newest student space! From 2026, our students will be able to enjoy a brand new multi-purpose space specifically designed to cater to those in the College whose passions (or even fleeting hobbies) lie in the performing arts space. The rest of the Crescent should beware - with more practice space the Hilda’s bands will be unstoppable from next year!
The last remnants of the Basement’s life as a storage space
Involved in The Basement Project is the repurposing of the old incinerator room, the relocation of the Student Club storage space and the server room, along with repurposing an old storage room and the Dining Hall wine store. With thanks to our electricians, Chris & Taylor for playing along with the photo shoot.
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While the exact date for the official opening is yet to be finalised, we want to make sure that the alumni community is included. We know that getting involved in music and performance at St Hilda’s was an important way for so many of our alumni over the years to settle into a new environment and make friends. As we look toward the opening of a brand new space for current and future students to make their own memories, we’d love to hear from you what the performing arts meant to you and your friends when you were here at College. Maybe you spent every spare moment practising your instrument? Maybe you decided to pick up a guitar for the first time at college? Maybe you lived out all your dreams on stage as part of a St Hilda’s production? Maybe you were in a choir? Whatever your memories, we’re hoping to display pictures and little snippets of stories around the new multi-purpose space to coincide with the opening next year and to help this generation of students see that they are part of a long tradition of music and performance here at St Hilda’s. So please, consider sending through something from your memory bank for us to include.
Click below to get in touch and share your St Hilda’s music or performance memories!
St Hilda’s College Theatre Group report from the 2012 Chronicle
Click here!
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The Basement Project is something our current student body and most recent alumni have been looking forward to for some time and we have greatly appreciated the input they’ve provided about what they hope to see in the space. This new venue isn’t just for the benefit of those in the community who get involved in the Arts. The space will also be available for the many Student Club activities that take place across the calendar. And, perhaps most importantly, The Basement Project means the existing music/band room can be relocated to a fit-for-purpose and sound-proofed underground venue. This will then enable us to get the ball rolling on the next student-focused project - the revamp of the much-loved Junior Common Room (JCR) which will include expanding into the space left by the old music room. With the construction phase of The Basement Project now well underway, stay tuned over the coming months for some work-in-progress updates on our social media channels. Once construction wraps up - expected to be not too long after our students have settled into the rhythm of Semester 1 2026 - we will move onto Phase 2 of the project which will be to fit out the new space. We welcome support from our community to help fit out this wonderful new space so please, get in touch with us if you’d like to contribute. Amongst the goals of the fit out will be appropriate furniture, new instruments, sound and AV installation and lighting. If this is something that is close to your heart and you’d like to help set up the next generation of Hildarian performers, please use the link below. Alternatively, if you would like to discuss the possibility of contributing to a specific component of the fit out, please email or phone the College for a confidential conversation with the team.
Please click here to support the new music space fit out in 2026 The existing music room
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Alumni Profile: Miranda Nation By Aimee Watson
As our current students were wrapping up their Semester One exams, I had the pleasure of attending the launch of a novel by one of St Hilda’s very own alumni, Miranda Nation. Later in the year, I had the opportunity to speak with Miranda about her life and career. Miranda Nation was a student at St Hilda’s in the mid-1990s, and was studying a Bachelor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne before deciding to pursue acting and screenwriting. Miranda won the award for Best Short Film at the Sydney Film Festival in 2013 for her film, Perception. Her first feature film, Undertow, premiered at the 2018 Melbourne International Film Festival. New Skin, Miranda’s debut novel, was released in June and follows the lives of two students, Leah and Alex, in their second year of a Bachelor of Medicine and beyond. Miranda grew up in Geelong with an early interest in the arts, which she says influenced her move to Melbourne. She knew she wanted to be an actor from a young age, but didn’t know how to make her dream a reality. So, Miranda pivoted to medicine and enrolled in a Bachelor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne. “I was really attracted to medicine for, I think, one of the same reasons that I have always loved storytelling,” Miranda says, “which is the very human dynamic of it. Working with people, trying to figure out holistically what's going on with them.” As a young adult new to Melbourne, Miranda chose to live at St Hilda’s to be a part of a college environment and live on campus, immersing herself in university life. She spent two years at St Hilda’s, where her highlights were the sense of community and the opportunity to make lifelong friends.
Miranda behind the scenes on Playing Grace Darling - credit Sarah Enticknap
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At the New Skin launch held at Readings Carlton, it was eye-opening to hear Miranda talk about her writing process. With experience as a screenwriter from her earlier projects, Miranda was able to write natural and believable dialogue between characters that enhanced their relationships. She also had to research in-depth about medical procedures and terminology to write realistic scenes for university classes, where Leah and Alex both studied medicine. Similarly to Leah, Miranda made the decision to leave university after her second year; however, she highlighted that her choice was “much less dramatic” than Leah’s. “I was starting to doubt whether this was the right pathway for me,” Miranda says. After deferring her third year, travelling, working, and again picking up her degree, Miranda decided to pursue acting. After doing some short courses in Australia, Miranda spent two years in Paris at Lecoq, a school of physical theatre. It was here that she discovered a love for directing and writing, as well as acting. Miranda recalls writing her first novels 15 years ago, although they “never saw the light of day”. However, one of these drafts was an early iteration of New Skin, in which Leah was the sole narrator. “I'd always had the idea that, you know, maybe there was something in it to go back and revisit,” Miranda says. “But as I revisited it, I decided I really wanted to have that second voice and explore an alternate experience.” Speaking about the themes of the book, Miranda explained how Leah and Alex’s stories grew from her own experiences and her path. “I think in some ways, you know, Leah and Alex are the two halves of myself that go in different directions and [the novel was] exploring where that might have ended up and the challenges, and joys in both directions,” she says.
Publicity shot for New Skin - credit Leah Holscher
What I loved most about the book launch, and the book itself, was Miranda’s honest, unromanticised portrayal of mental health and coming of age.
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At the launch, Miranda spoke about how she was careful not to “diagnose” her characters, instead letting their thoughts and feelings remain complex and uncertain. She continued that while the circumstances in New Skin, set in the 1990s, would be different to the experiences of university students today, the idea of coming of age and navigating a transition into adulthood still rings true. Beyond the launch of New Skin, Miranda is also the creator and writer of a new supernatural mystery series, Playing Gracie Darling. Released in August and currently available on Netflix and Paramount+, Playing Gracie Darling explores the aftermath of a seance gone wrong, resulting in a young girl’s disappearance. When asked about what’s next, Miranda shared that she has more film and TV projects in development and hinted at a new novel. Whatever the future holds for Miranda, we are always so excited to celebrate our talented St Hilda’s alumni and their successes!
Dame Harriet Walter and Morgana O’Reilly in a publicity shot from Playing Gracie Darling
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Founders & Benefactors On Friday October 31st we hosted our annual Founders & Benefactors Dinner. This event is a special one on the College calendar and an opportunity to publicly celebrate those in our community who so generously give back to St Hilda’s College by donating to our scholarship fund or contributing their time. This event is also where we take the opportunity to celebrate our founding alumnae. This year, we were honoured the welcome back twenty women from the 1960s. It is very special at each F&B Dinner to watch our current students meet and chat to the founding students of St Hilda’s College. Hearing about the longevity of friendships and the ongoing connection to the College is always a highlight for these students.
Hildarians from across the generations joined together for the annual celebration.
The Pre-dinner drinks were a great opportunity for current students to meet alumni and friends of the College.
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We were thrilled to see a record attendance of almost 70 guests at the pre-dinner Music Recital where two of our resident VCA students, Kate Katheklakis (Saxophone) and Sophia Stephens (French Horn) performed. We also had the privilege of hearing from our wonderful St Hilda’s music tutor, Alex Gorbatov - an alumnus of the College and the Artistic Director of Divisi. Our sincere thanks to Alex, Kate and Sophia for sharing their talents.
L-R: Kate Katheklakis, Sophia Stephens & Alex Gorbatov following the music recital
L-R: Freya Gniel, Ria Li, Molly Fraser, James Hardiman, Shayne Hateley & Robyn Hateley
Kate Abraham hands out copies of the history book to those in attendance.
L-R: Michael Gurry, Marilyn Gurry & Anne Donaldson
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In an attempt to dodge the weather, canapés were held in the back of the Dining Hall which allowed guests to look at the various archive material on display and to collect their copy of Communitas: The First 60 Years of St Hilda’s College Melbourne. To reflect on the impact our scholarship program has for current Hildarians, second year student and incoming Student Club Secretary, Georgia Shell shared her experience as someone who moved to Melbourne from regional Victoria.
Chair of the College Board, Lynne Williams reflects on the year that was 2025
Guests at the dinner were also treated to a beautiful rendition of “Colours of the Wind” by Georgia and accompanying keyboardist, Zach Ranson.
L-R: Liem & Tien Kieu
At the dinner, in keeping with previous years, we shared our annual Community Impact Report. If you would like to read this year’s report, you can access a digital copy via the link on this page. You can also view the full album of photos on Flickr.
Click here for the Impact Report
Click here for the Flickr Album
Georgia Shell shares her story and the impact of a St Hilda’s scholarship.
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The evolution of the residential tutor James Hardiman Principal of St Hilda’s College What’s in a name? It seems simple, but one of the reactions we get regularly from people who walk into St Hilda’s for the first time is surprise that the students call me Jimmy. But, for me, this is just one small example of the kind of culture we are aiming to create here at St Hilda’s - one that is truly equal. Given the age and experience of our students, most of whom are just out of high school, one of the early tasks we face is helping them understand how this environment might be different to the school environment they have just left. Often, we need to spend time breaking down the hierarchical barriers that a number of our students will have inherited from a school-based system that necessarily positions teachers and principals in an Our three senior residential staff: James Hardiman (Principal), authoritative position. Fiona Cadorel (Dean of Students) & Adrian Oats (Associate Dean of Students)
Another way we do this is through our model of wellbeing which is grounded in the pursuit of walking alongside students and truly having a collaborative, equal approach to community wellbeing.
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It seeks to put staff and students on the same level when we talk about how to build positive culture within our community. It seeks to make sure that the students have a voice at the table around those things. It seeks to build independent, adult help-seeking skills in our students as they move toward the inevitable step of life after college. I was lucky enough to live in a residential college during uni that had a residential team with a wellbeing first approach. I benefited from great mentorship and guidance from a number of Senior Residential Advisors (SRAs) through my college experience. So much so that it inspired me to go and undertake those roles myself. I started in an SRA role at a previous college and took great joy in getting to know students - to understand on a personal level what they needed to be supported to succeed at university outside the classroom. It allowed me to see every student as equal rather than only focusing on the chemistry students, which was my academic area of expertise. Ultimately, those early experiences as a student and then as an SRA were my gateway to realising that creating supportive and inclusive communities is an area that I am deeply passionate about.
SRA, Grant Hardisty helping students move in on Welcome Saturday
At St Hilda’s, our SRAs are our modern day version of a residential staff member. As many of you would know, traditionally, at colleges like St Hilda's and across the country, residential staff would primarily provide tutorial support and academic assistance to our students. The SRA is a modern iteration of this role whose primary focus is on the wellbeing and holistic support of our students. It includes academics at a fundamental level but goes well beyond that and considers all other aspects of what is required to be well and to be healthy in community - in line with what our students and their families value and expect. Much like tutors of the past, we seek to find people who are of an age and stage that is complementary to our current students. People who can provide targeted support on specific issues, but also just general life support, given that they've been there, done that, and gone through the system themselves. Many of our current SRAs are either engaged in post-graduate study or are early career professionals.
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Crucially, what we focus on when we look for these people is their ability to connect with young adults. The most important skillset, in our minds, is to be able to create positive relationships that enhance the wellbeing of our students. And if they happen to be great teachers and academics on the side, then that's great. I think that's a subtle but important shift in the way that we've recruited previously for tutors whose academic credentials and teaching capability would come first. We've flipped it on its head to look for people whose motivations are driven primarily by creating positive culture and positive relationships. Individuals who are motivated to be involved in our community and help transform the lives of our students. We still employ 30 to 40 tutors, but now they are non-residential. This non-residential model allows us to offer 80 to 100 tutorials in any given week for our students across all faculties and a wide range of subjects. We’ve made the decision to allow our non-res team to focus on excellent teaching SRA, Willow Plex chatting with students at Paddock to Plate and academic excellence and for our residential team to focus on support. The rationale being that if you are able to provide support to students outside of the classroom that ensures they're able to engage with programs and build relationships that will enhance their own sense of well-being, their own self-esteem. The result has seen our average mark move from somewhere in the mid-60s about five years ago, to now be sitting in the mid-70s. So, shifting from a residential tutor model certainly hasn’t negatively impacted our academic results. Instead, one might argue it has enhanced them because of our approach to prioritise the wellbeing of our students first and foremost under the theory that if they’re doing well outside of the classroom, then they will necessarily be able to do better inside the classroom. So, while it might seem that with a shift in the focus of our residential staff we might be deprioritising academics, the contrary is true. Ultimately, academic success is still core to what we want to see our students achieving, whether they acknowledge it or not at times! We've sought to make sure that what we did before with residential tutors is maintained. It just happens to be taught by people who don't live within the community anymore.
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Our tutors still need to be experts in their field and expert teachers. So we can now recruit with that lens on and pick the best teachers within their subject without having to determine whether they're a good fit to live in within the community. Likewise, for our residential staff recruitment, we can focus on whether they are the best fit for our community and their ability to connect with young people comes to the front, irrespective of whether they're a good academic or a good teacher or not.
SRA, Richard Hinman with his wife, Toni and, Hilda’s youngest resident, Vinnie at this year’s Valedictory Dinner
Delineating those skill sets really allows us to have the best of both worlds: a really robust tutorial program of non-residential tutors; and, a really, really robust residential program of those focused on wellbeing and community. When you get those skill sets colliding, the results, we think, speak for themselves. At the heart of the wellbeing model we have adopted is an evidence-based tiered approach where the philosophy is no door is the wrong door. Within this model, our SRAs are kind of like the glue between the student body and the senior staff within the community. They are embedded and highly visible within the College. They are also closer in age and stage to the students than most of our senior residential staff, but also have enough wisdom and experience to be able to act as a conduit to the senior staff. Our Residential Advisors (RAs) are also extremely important within this wellbeing eco-system. The RAs are a group of our senior third year students who have lived experience of what it's like to go through college and enough maturity to be able to support younger students through peer level support. We upskill these students and position them to see their job as building community, recognising early signs of concern and then having the confidence to escalate.
Saying goodbye and thank you to SRA, Evie Scroce who departs St Hilda’s at the end of this year
The RAs normalize the connection between students and staff and introduce a level of comfort for our younger students that the staff are here to truly care about them. They, ultimately, form the base of the pyramid of support for our students.
The Residential Advisors (RAs) are very important members of our wellbeing program. These are student leadership positions for third year St Hilda’s students. It is a pleasure to introduce you to the incoming 2026 RA team:
Lulu Di Sciascio
Ella Goodwin
Dillon Lane
Zach Ranson
Simon Krupka
Pippa Monckton
Georgia Shell
Alex Wackrow
Tilly Stepto
Hannah Wilson
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With the SRAs as the middle ground (somewhere between peer and senior staff), the the Principal, the Dean, and the Associate Dean become that deeply experienced door to walk through for students who might need extra care. For us, this tiered model acknowledges that there will be things that students might want to just seek peer support for without involving those they view as more senior/formal staff. But, it also acknowledges that there might be things that students deeply don't want their peers to know about and so we want to ensure that in those circumstances they know there are doors they can walk through to receive the support and guidance that is needed. Significantly, we've been really careful not to position our third year students as crisis managers or professional psychologists. Instead, their responsibility is to provide peer support that recognises signs where people need help and refer them on. Their other responsibility is to be role models and run initiatives, activities and educational programs within our community that give our students an opportunity to learn to engage with topics that are really important around positive culture. It’s actually part of their job to co-design these with the other residential staff and to encourage students to participate in them in the interest of building a really positive and inclusive culture. These
Hilda’s students taking part in a Men’s Health Week workshop
programs include things like emotional literacy, vulnerability, alcohol and drug harm minimisation, women's and men's health, reproductive health, cultural awareness - the list goes on. Just like the SRAs, our RAs are paid, part-time members of staff. In recognition of this status, they are afforded the same training that our SRAs and other residential members of staff undertake. Across the year, they complete over 50 hours of training to ensure they are equipped to support our students. Without listing all of them, this training includes: Mental health first aid Physical health first aid Primary prevention training Ethical bystander training Emergency response training
Responding to disclosures of gender-based violence Alcohol and drug harm minimisation training Suicide ASIST and response training.
The Wheel of Wellbeing offers an insight into the range of initiatives, workshops, etc. that are on offer to St Hilda’s students.
It is across these seven categories that the SRAs and RAs work with the senior residential staff to co-design the full program each year.
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As the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Genderbased Violence comes into effect on January 1, 2026 I am really proud that our residential and wellbeing model is set up to really allow us to respond to all parts on the spectrum from primary prevention of gender-based violence to reporting and supporting students in a moment of crisis. Often, much of the work and the focus is on responding to and supporting students in moments of crisis when
The 2025 O Week team about to head off on their leadership camp.
actually our wellbeing model really acknowledges the role that primary prevention has to play in stopping these things or reducing the likelihood of these things from happening in the first place. So, while we have staff members who are absolutely here and trained to support students if they face challenges like declining mental health or experiences of genderbased violence, the wellbeing model means the primary focus of the RAs and the SRAs is to actually work on prevention. This fundamentally focuses on education and positive culture, engaging our students in an understanding of consent, learning around ethical bystander activity and around the risk factors that lead to increased incidence of genderbased violence within their demographic, including teaching them about alcohol and harm reduction. Ultimately, at the core of our wellbeing model we are increasing the literacy of our community and engagement within our community around things that we know will have a positive cultural impact not only within our community but also for when students leave our community and transition into the adult world. Hilda’s students at a recent educational session focused on relationships, consent and sex in a digital age
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Communitas: The First 60 Years of St Hilda’s College Melbourne It began as a conversation at the Founders & Benefactors Dinner in 2022 and quickly became one of the major components of the College’s 60th Anniversary program. It is an absolute pleasure to finally reveal the much-awaited final publication of Communitas: The First 60 Years of St Hilda’s College Melbourne.
It’s been a labour of love and we are so happy to be able to finally start sharing it with the community.
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L-R: Designer, Des Katsakis alongside authors, Clare Rhoden & Louise Zedda-Sampson, and Community Engagement Manager, Kate Abraham with their copies of the book.
If you want to really get to know a place and learn about its people and its stories, consider embarking on a project to create a history book. For everyone who has been involved in this project, it has been a true joy to find out just what makes this amazing place and its community tick. Countless hours have been spent digging through the College archive - with many delighted exclaimations of “Oh wow! Come and look at this!” There’s been the absolute pleasure of meeting with alumni, past staff and friends of St Hilda’s College from across every decade to hear the various tales, share memories and even have the privilege of seeing precious artefacts linked to the earliest days of the College and those who made it all possible. The end result is a book that offers two different perspectives of this community. The central narrative that weaves its way through the text is the historic story of St Hilda’s College - a women’s college born in the 1960s which soon after became a coeducational instituion in the 1970s, through to the Hilda’s that today’s cohorts know and love. Interspersed throughout this central narrative is what is truly at the heart of this place - its people. As you flick through the various chapters, it is the snippets of the lived experience of college life at St Hilda’s that comes to life. As you move from the first chapter through to the last, one thing quickly becomes apparent - this is a place that has not only shaped lives across its six decades, but has fostered friendships and connections that have stood the test of time. The team at St Hilda’s College would like to thank all those who have been involved in this project and would like to draw special attention to the following people who, while not originally part of the St Hilda’s College community, are now true Hildarians!
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Our fabulous authors Dr Clare Rhoden & Louise Zedda-Sampson
Our wonderful designer Des Katsakis
Our amazing printer Phil and the team at Kosdown printing in Port Melbourne
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Cheryl Iser sharing stories while looking through the publication at the book’s launch.
Marian Simpson and her husband, Colin enjoying their first flick through the publication during the book launch event
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Since receiving the finished product, we have enjoyed seeing the reaction of our community members when they first get their hands on a copy of the book. Each person has begun eagerly flicking through the chapters and we have loved seeing the emotion that has passed across their faces as memories have come flooding back via the images on the pages. The feedback that we have received once people have had time to take their copy home and spend more time looking through it has been everything we hoped for. The general consensus is that this is a book you can come back to time and again for a trip down memory lane. We look forward to handing out more copies at alumni events in 2026.
Hannah Fiddelaers scanning the pages of her copy of the book
Daryl Kroschel perusing his copy of the book
Even current students are getting joy from flicking through the pages!
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The End of an Era Happy Retirement to Carol Briggs! St Hilda’s College is very sad to say goodbye, but also incredibly happy for Carol as she embarks on the next chapter of her journey - retirement! Having joined the College back in 1998, Carol confirmed earlier this year that she would be putting down the calculator and departing St Hilda’s after 27 years of service - almost half of the College’s lifespan to date! Across her time at St Hilda’s, Carol has been there for four different Principals (Shortland, Green, Holt & Hardiman), seen thousands of students come and go and witnessed and processed more accounts, invoices and pay runs for the College community than the average person can count! Alongside her official role as Accounts Manager, Carol has also been one of the ‘go to’ people for anything St Hilda’s history related. Her knowledge of the College, its people and stories was invaluable in the lead up to last year’s 60th Anniversary celebrations. It was particularly fitting that at the final event of 2024's calendar, The Communitas Ball, Carol was inducted as a Streonashalh Honorary Life Member in recognition of her dedication to the College and its community. On behalf of the entire St Hilda’s community, we thank Carol for her service to the College and wish her all the very best for her retirement. Carol (right) being inducted as a Streonashalh Honorary Life Member at the 2024 Communitas Ball.
Carol, we’ll miss you and make sure you drop in from time to time for a cup of tea and a catch up!
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Welcome, Congratulations & Farewell Congratulations to Hilda’s alumni, Kieran & Phoebe Barr (nee Neilson) who welcomed little Rueben in October. Siblings Audrey & Olivia are thrilled to be big sisters. We send our congratulations as well to the grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins across the extended Barr and Neilson families who will no doubt be lining up for cuddles at this year’s Christmas celebrations!
St Hilda’s is pleased to introduce two new staff members who will be joining the SRA team in 2026. Welcome to Josh Nguyen & Annabel Weiss.
Incoming 2026 SRA, Josh Nguyen
Incoming 2026 SRA, Annabel Weiss
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Congratulations to current St Hilda’s students, Tilly Stepto, Danielle Foster and Alex Wackrow who, earlier this year, received a Youth Climate Action Grant from Melbourne City Council. At the start of December, Tilly presented the group’s project at the Youth Climate Action Fund Showcase & Celebration. The team used their grant to engage with industry experts to educate our community and implement strategies to reduce waste including food waste, consumption waste and clothing waste. This included a waste audit and presenting the College with a food waste management comparison report which compared food waste management systems in order to utilise the most carbon neutral food waste management system for the College. This led the College to switch to Bardee, a closed loop food waste management system that utilises black soldier fly larvae to transform our food waste into sustainable agricultural inputs while reducing our community's food waste carbon footprint.
Vale
It is with great sadness that St Hilda’s College shares the news of the recent passing of College Fellow and alumna from the 1970s, the Honourable Kate McMillan KC. Kate enjoyed a distinguished career within the legal profession that included 11 years in the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Victoria and as a long-serving member of the Ethics Committee. Our thoughts are with all of Kate’s family and friends at this difficult time.
Tilly presenting at the YCAF Showcase & Celebration
L-R: The 2025 Environment Committee comprised of Tilly Stepto, Alex Wackrow & Danielle Foster
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Image - combined student artwork of Alex Wackrow “Love Letter to St Hilda’s” and Wilson, “Diego”
Hilda’s News
Keep in touch Or more to the point, help your Peer Year to stay in touch! With each LinkedIn post, newsletter, Facebook post, etc. that we send out, we are slowly hearing from more alumni who want to reconnect with St Hilda’s. Whether it’s so they can hear about upcoming events or simply enjoy reminiscing by hearing about what the current Hildarians are up to, please encourage your St Hilda’s friends to get in touch with us to update their details. Details can be updated via the form on the Alumni page of the St Hilda’s website . Additionally, if there is someone from your era who you think we should be celebrating, let us know! To let us know about alumni news, drop us a line via communitas@hildas.unimelb.edu.au
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