FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Australians will remember the summer of 2019-2020 with heavy hearts, recalling the devastating bushfire season that continues to unfold as I write to you in our first edition of SANCTA for the year.

As a College with regional students at the heart of our identity, our thoughts and prayers are with the courageous firefighters and volunteers who are sacrificing so much to fight these fires. We are with the families in NSW, Victoria and South Australia who have found themselves needing to defend their homes or even evacuate their towns. It is too soon to know how our community may have been affected, so we will continue to offer our College as a safe haven to any Sancta supporters who find themselves needing temporary accommodation.

Coming together in 2020

Our College enters its 94th year in 2020 and, as comes with every new year of Sancta’s history, we have more reasons to celebrate:

• Our students continue to excel academically, performing well above the Sydney University average.

• We have grown to become the ‘place to be’ for Medicine and Health Sciences students in Sydney, with over 80 of our residents studying Medicine and related degrees.

• The immediate past Dean of the Sydney University School of Medicine, Professor Arthur Conigrave, joins Sancta’s Academic Mentoring Program in 2020 as our Medicine Mentor, giving our Medicine students direct access to his lifetime of Medical practice and research coupled with engaging charisma and wisdom.

• Our global network of alumni and supporters was strengthened in 2019, with an unprecedented number of events held domestically and internationally; we plan to further expand our reach in 2020. Read more about our Roadshow on page 18.

• We look forward to our 2020 Annual Gala Dinner and Alumni Awards, to be held on Saturday 23 May in the MacLaurin Hall of The University of Sydney. Following the success of 2019’s event, held inaugurally at The University, we have made this year’s event more accessible for our regional alumni by holding it on a Saturday evening and by offering discounted accommodation here at SANCTA for the weekend. We look forward to a full house of Sancta supporters to acknowledge outstanding alumni and to celebrate our ever-evolving story.

24 Years of Excellence – A Heartfelt Thanks and Farewell to Terry Nixon

Sancta is blessed with a wonderful staff team that works tirelessly to deliver the best possible student experience. Nearly every resident and staff member who has spent time at Sancta in the past 24 years would recognise Terry Nixon. Since 1996, Terry has been Sancta’s Facilities Manager, taking absolute pride in his role to maintain our beautiful grounds and facilities. Our beautiful Quadrangle garden that is the most cherished space by Sancta alumni – without Terry’s passion for its perfection, it may not still be in its prime some 94 years after its establishment. Terry has carried Sancta through many periods of capital works, including the establishment of Graduate House in 2014. More recently in 2018, he was pivotal in supporting the College through an upgrade to our fire safety infrastructure which involved many months of hard work and red tape. Together with his Maintenance and Housekeeping teams, Terry has ensured cleanliness and serenity for our residents and guests. We will always remember Terry for his exceptional management skills, teamed with genuine kindness and compassion.

I have spent the past few months interviewing prospective students for a place at Sancta. I am struck, as always, by the generous ambition our students bring to their lives. The common thread that runs through our students is a desire to excel, and to excel for the benefit of others. In a world that, at times, seems captive to fear and hysteria, we can take heart in the knowledge that these young people are curious, intelligent, just and they are wanting to carve out careers that have a positive impact on the world. The pleasure and privilege I have in getting to know them is profound.

In 2020, I am looking forward to connecting with more of you (former students, families and friends), wherever in the world you may be. A full schedule of our 2020 community event dates can be found on page 49. May you all have a safe and blessed 2020.

Fiona Hastings Principal