F EATU RE
Graduate House : 60 years a residential college 2022 marks sixty years since the first terraces of Graduate House was opened as a residential college. The inspiration of Melbourne Graduate House came about following the establishment of London House in 1930, to provide quality residence for graduates from the Commonwealth, USA and Europe. Acknowledging a similar need for The University of Melbourne, Gladstone Terrace was seen as a suitable model when it became available in 1957. Over the next five years, gradual refurbishment work began to take place.
Ashley Viegas
Resident at Barry Street apartment
The first stage of Graduate House was officially opened by the chairman of Australian Universities Commisson, Sir Lesley Martin on 13th July, 1962. This was followed by two other stages of the building schedule. The first resident was Brian Alec Parker, an MA candidate from London, who moved into 228 Leicester Street in 1962. Brian graduated in 1964 from The University of Melbourne, one of only 18 that year, with a Master of Arts degree. Joining him in residency were six other postgraduate students and over the next decade, the number of residents at Graduate House grew to fifty four. In the last two decades, more extensions were added to meet the need for college accommodation in Carlton. Today Graduate House houses 145 accommodation rooms with 31 offsite apartments. Thirteen of these apartments are on the 7th floor of 50 Barry Street and eighteen are at 24 Barkly Place. Graduate House provides high quality college-like accommodation and is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled at any university in Melbourne, as well as for academics, researchers and clinicians visiting universities, research institutes and medical precincts in Melbourne. Variable stay durations are available. For rates and facilities, please refer to pages 6 or check our website for more details. As we welcome back students to their various campuses in Melbourne in 2022, we also extend a very warm welcome to our new residents and we thank them for choosing to make Graduate House their home away from home. We recently spoke to two new residents, Stefan Wojcik and Ashley Viegas and discussed college life and careers. Here are their stories.
Tell me something about yourself. I was born in India and went to college in a state called Gujarat, which is on the western coast of India. After I graduated I went into the restaurant industry for a few years and then moved to Miami in the USA for four years. There I worked as a chef for a cruise ship company, which gave me a wonderful opportunity to travel and meet people from many nationalities and cultures. I then moved to Australia in 2018 and now have Permanent Residency. And now you are about to commence another a course here? Yes, I will begin a course in Workplace Health and Safety in February. I would like to work in a food manufacturing facility or become a Council Health Inspector. This would entail inspecting restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food self-service areas and the like. In addition to my studies this year I will be working two days a week in a local restaurant on the banks of the Yarra River. The restaurant focuses mainly on modern Australian food, incorporating local and seasonal ingredients sourced from Victorian farmers and suppliers.
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