Principal’s Message
It seems like yesterday that this year’s student leaders arrived to get ready for O Week. Before we knew it, Welcome Saturday had rolled around and then a few days later we had a full college with the returner cohort landing back at College Crescent.
Since those early weeks back in February, your young person has spent hours watching lectures, doing readings, practice questions and labs. They’ve sat MSTs, laboured over assessments and navigated group assignments. They’ve gotten through SWOTVACs and Exam Blocks with the help of the Hilda’s arvo tea.
Their academics, while obviously a key part of the reason they have been here at Hilda’s, have only played one part of the experience.
As Principal, the things that are the highlights for me aren’t the grades. They aren’t even the many events, performances or trophies that have been part of the Hilda’s story in 2025. The highlights for me are your young people and the roles they have played in the Hilda’s story this year.
In 2025, I’ve seen people growing and learning about themselves, making mistakes and coming back from them.
I’ve seen people stepping out of their comfort zone and taking on new challenges. For some, it’s been singing or dancing on stage for the first time. For others, it was taking on their first leadership role. For others still, the first mark on the field was taken.
L-R: Harry Walker-Jones, Joel Biro, Fe Cadorel, Jimmy Hardiman, Adrian Oats, Sharon Anthony & Alison O’Brien at the third year graduation.
I’ve seen people cheering on their mates during the highs, while also lending a supporting hand or shoulder during the lows.
I’ve seen a group of 240 young people band together under the ethos of Communitas to ask, how can we be more inclusive and give back to the community around us?
Finally, I have seen a group of young people have a whole lot of fun and make memories that will last a lifetime.
I truly believe that college is a transformational experience and I am proud of the growth that I have seen in our students across this year as they continue their transition from teenage years to adulthood.
If your young person is returning to Hilda’s in 2026, I will look forward to re-connecting with them during O-Week. If the door is closing on their time as a Hilda’s student, I will look forward to seeing them again in the future as members of our long line of proud alumni - all of whom still have a role to play in this special community.
As we wrap up the year here at Hilda’s, I would like to take a moment to thank all of the St Hilda’s College staff. Their dedication to the students of this College is always evident and it is a joy to work with each and every one of them. To ensure our staff can enjoy a well-deserved break, St Hilda’s will be closing on Tuesday December 23 and reopening on Monday January 5 rd th.
From my family to yours, we wish you a safe, relaxing and happy festive season.
James ‘Jimmy’ Hardiman Principal
St Hilda’s Staff Christmas Party
Important dates for Semester 1!
Welcome Saturday (new students)
Saturday February 21st
Returners arrival
Thursday February 26th
Mid-sem break Semester 1
Starts Friday April 3rd
Sem 1 Exams end
Friday June 26th
Paddock to Plate
Saturday July 25th
Winter break ends
Sunday July 26th
Paddock to Plate 2025
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
Johnny McKeague Cultural Director
Georgia Shell Secretary
James Mulcahy Communitas Director
Hannah Piper Female-identifying Sports Rep
Rory Vial Male-identifying Sports Rep
Mia Lu Social Director
Alex Wackrow Treasurer
Felix Burns Queer Representative
Nishka Parekh International Representative
Jasmine Jordan Accessibility Consultant
Emily Lee Cultural Diversity Convenor
Danielle Foster Sustainability Consultant
The Sounds of Summer
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.
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
Valedictory Dinner
On Thursday October 16 we wrapped up the wonderful year that was 2025, with our annual Valedictory Dinner celebrations. th
As has been tradition over recent years, there was a small ceremony prior to canapés to recognise and celebrate those students who were saying farewell to St Hilda’s after three years at the College.
After each of the third year students at the ceremony were presented with their certificates and a small gift from the College to recognise their transition from student to alumni, they were then greeted with an honour guard made up of second and first year students that cheered them on their way down to the Front Quad for the muchanticipated tossing of their mortar boards.
Congratulations Class of 2025
Yashua Aboumourad
Sharon Anthony
Aaron Bennett
Joel Biro
Gabby Burrell
Jade Busch
Jordan Chao
Peter Chuan
Alice Davidson
Kelly Hirschmann
Houhong Li
Arnold Luppi
Alison O’Brien
Faieza Shariff
Caitlin Taylor
Harry Walker-Jones
Canapés in the Front Quad was a chance for one last set of pre-dinner group photos and selfies.
It also signalled the start of the many farewell hugs and the occasional tears that would be shed throughout the course of the night.
After extended canapés, everyone but the third year cohort moved into the Dining Hall.
After a traditional spoon bang entrance for the third years, the dinner program got underway with speeches, awards and the sharing of plenty of memories.
Val Dinner is always one of the favourites on the calendar and this year was no exception with everyone in the room feeling the love for one another and the community that is Hilda’s.
Congratulations to our 2025 AwardWinners!
Student Club Val Dinner Award Winners
Maya Nix - Service to the Arts
Zach Ranson - Service to Music
Sam Kohler - Cultural MVP
Rose Fisher - Spirit of St Hilda’s Sporting Award
Fletcher Good - Spirit of St Hilda’s Sporting Award
Emily Bauer - Supporter Award (The Battler)
Dylan Thompson - Supporter Award (The Battler)
Jackson Barthold - Best Sportsperson
Hannah Piper - Best Sportsperson
Zach Ranson - Sports Leadership Award
Zach Ranson - Presidents’ Award
Major College Award Winners
Zach Ranson - The Alice Paton Award
Harry Walker-Jones - The Peter Kempen Leadership Award
Alex Wackrow - Change Champion
Joel Biro - Communitas Prize Collegian of the Year
Thanks to Aimee Watson and Joel Biro for delivering this year’s student reflections.
Thanks also to Sharon Anthony, Zach Ranson, Harper Raverty and Aimee Watson for the evening’s musical performance.
Finally, thanks to Jade Busch for a wonderful video tribute to the year that was 2025.
What a night!
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 authoritative position.
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.
Our three senior residential staff: James Hardiman (Principal), Fiona Cadorel (Dean of Students) & Adrian Oats (Associate Dean of Students)
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.
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.
SRA, Grant Hardisty helping students move in on Welcome Saturday
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.
a wide range of subjects. We’ve made the decision to allow our non-res team to focus on excellent teaching 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
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 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.
SRA, Willow Plex chatting with students at Paddock to Plate
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.
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.
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.
SRA, Richard Hinman with wife, Toni and, Hilda’s youngest resident, Vinnie at this year’s Valedictory Dinner
Saying goodbye and thank you to SRA, Evie Scroce who departs St Hilda’s at the end of this year
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
Simon Krupka
Dillon Lane
Pippa Monckton
Zach Ranson
Georgia Shell
Tilly Stepto
Alex Wackrow
Hannah Wilson
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
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.
Hilda’s students taking part in a Men’s Health Week workshop
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.
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
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.
The 2025 O Week team about to head off on their leadership camp.
Hilda’s students at a recent educational session focused on relationships, consent and sex in a digital age
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 60 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. th
It’s been a labour of love and we are so happy to be able to finally start sharing it with the community.
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!
L-R: Designer, Des Katsakis, alongside authors, Clare Rhoden & Louise Zedda-Sampson, and Community Engagement Manager, Kate Abraham with their copies of the book.
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
Founding student,
sharing stories while looking through the publication at the book’s launch.
Cheryl Iser
Founding student, Marian Simpson and her husband, Colin enjoying their first flick through the publication during the book launch event
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. For alumni, it has been as memories have come flooding back via the images on the pages and for our current students it has been a palpable realisation that their experiences have been shared by those who came before them.
The general consensus is that this is a book you can come back to time and again! It is everything we hoped for, and more.
Even current students are getting joy from flicking through the pages!
Hannah Fiddelaers scanning the pages of her copy of the book
Daryl Kroschel perusing his copy of the book
The End of an Era HappyRetirementtoCarolBriggs!
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 60 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, we’ll miss you and make sure you drop in from time to time for a cup of tea and a catch up!
Carol (right) being inducted as a Streonashalh Honorary Life Member at the 2024 Communitas Ball.
Congratulations & Welcome
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.
Tilly presenting at the YCAF Showcase & Celebration
L-R: The 2025 Environment Committee comprised of Tilly Stepto, Alex Wackrow & Danielle Foster
St Hilda’s is pleased to introduce two new staff members who will be joining the SRA team in 2026, Josh Nguyen & Annabel Weiss.
Josh is a clinical psychologist and PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne's Centre for Youth Mental Health. His research areas include suicide risk prediction, machine learning, and mental health in LGBTQIA+ individuals. His work has received several national and international awards. Josh also has a long-standing passion for improving the wellbeing of others, especially of marginalised populations. Josh also concurrently holds leadership positions in the field of mental health and suicide prevention in Australia and internationally. In his free time (if any ��), Josh likes spending time with his family and friends, hitting the gym, painting and (sometimes) reading books and watching supernatural movies: "I am currently re-watching The Vampire Diaries and reading When the Coffee Gets Cold".
Annabel’s Bachelor of Arts saw her develop a passion for feminist readings of history which inspired her to pursue a career in women’s health with a Master of Nursing Science. She worked for two years as a registered nurse at The Royal Women’s Hospital, across the gynaecology and neonatal units. Annabel aspires to be a specialist in the fields of sexual and reproductive health and in 2026 returns to university to begin a Masters of Public Health. Annabel has spent the last seven months solo backpacking across Central and South America. When not exploring the globe, she loves yoga, running and (most importantly) dog watching in Princes Park.
Welcome Josh and Annabel!
Incoming 2026 SRA, Josh Nguyen
Incoming 2026 SRA, Annabel Weiss
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