Volume 40 Summer 2012–13
WARRANE JOURNAL
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THE THREAT OF SOCIAL MEDIA NSW Chief Justice –will Social Media threaten civilisation?
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STRENGTH OF CHARACTER UNLOCKED Ambitious program puts school leavers in the picture
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THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY Message from the Police Commissioner
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FROM THE MASTER
It is an honour to write my first letter
With the internal environment of the College
as Master of Warrane College.
well in hand under the responsible tutelage
The College has achieved a milestone when
concentrate on relationships outside the college.
of our Deans and Tutors, the Master can now a previous 1st year resident (1978) can become
Engagement with prospective residents, parents,
the Master. There have been significant changes
old boys, University, government, NGOs and other
for the better since then.
significant stakeholders are avenues to further the ideals of the College.
UNSW, which was once regarded in Sydney as “not the University”, is now a member of
Exciting opportunities exist for Warrane
the prestigious Group of Eight (Go8). Universities
in helping Australia take advantage of its
have become places of calm and diligent work
Asian Century. We have many current residents
and Warrane has benefitted from this.
and old boys in and from Asia. Warrane has
Challenges and opportunities have come thick
centres of Opus Dei in Asia. These include centres
and fast during the first 40 years of Warrane’s
now in Mumbai, Delhi, Colombo, Singapore,
helped establish and maintain and grow many
existence. These have included changes in funding
Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong-Kong, Taiwan,
for Universities and Colleges, globalisation,
the Philippines and South Korea. When the
the internet, and now Australia’s Asian Century.
first members of Opus Dei arrived in Australia
Warrane has not only survived but thrived in this
to start Warrane College in 1963, the nearest
changing landscape. The percentage of residents
centres of Opus Dei were in Japan and Kenya!
who achieve a distinction or a credit average increases every year. Our former residents are
Thank you for your continuing support of
having an impact in different environments of
the College. We rely a lot on our supporter
Australian and international public and family life.
base as a source of future residents and financial support.
The role of Master has also evolved. The first and founding master, now Reverend Father Joseph “Doc” Martins, steered the ship of Warrane through challenging times to a stable harbour. Dr Chris French consolidated and grew Warrane through the 90’s into being recognised for its academic excellence. Professor Tony Shannon over a decade spanning from 2001 to 2011 added his own educational depth to Warrane.
Gerald Fogarty
BSc MBBS (Hons) FRANZCR
He systematised our publications, began in earnest the outreach to old boys, particularly with the monthly Warrane Association lunches in the city, and oversaw our needed refurbishment.
The Warrane Journal is produced by Warrane College at the University of New South Wales. Design and Layout JOANNA GRYGIERCZYK Mailing address Warrane College UNSW PO Box 123 Kensington NSW 1465 info@warrane.unsw.edu.au www.warrane.unsw.edu.au ISSN 0310-8104 © Copyright Warrane College UNSW
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CONTENTS 01
03
11 FEATURE
Under tropical heat Sri Lanka Workcamp - a great success
THE
REGULARS
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17 18
THE 2012 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS Benji, Matthew, Sebastian, Thomas NAIL BITING VICTORY Sports Shield HIDDEN TALENTS Meet some current residents
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05
pg 03
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THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY Message from the Police Commissioner
pg 05
FROM THE MASTER Of Warrane College SOCIAL MEDIA THREATENS CIVILISATION NSW Chief Justice - will Social Media threaten civilisation? STRENGTH OF CHARACTER UNLOCKED Ambitious program puts school leavers in the picture
pg 13
14
CURRENT LEADERS Taking a look at advice from past students
Alumni News
19 20 21 22
Warrane College prepared me for the world Citizen of the world succeeds in New York Old boy sees all sides of life About Warrane
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WARRANE LECTURE – BATHURST
SOCIAL Media
threatens civilisation
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77,000
Individuals The Chief Justice of New South Wales, The Honourable Thomas Bathurst, drew attention to possible long-term threats to Western civilisation posed by online social media when he delivered the 2012 Warrane Lecture on Wednesday 21 November 2012.
created or edited
CONTENT
ONLINE
These were some of the key ideas SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT IS ONLY PROVIDED BY 1% OF USERS While it was often assumed that social media is an inherently democratic platform, creators of the content were, generally speaking, “members of a fairly small and homogenous group”. For instance, in any given social forum most of the content was generated on average by only one per cent of users with most other users being considered as “lurkers”. In the case of Wikipedia, while half a billion unique users accessed the encyclopaedia each month, only 77,000 individuals regularly created or edited content - only 0.001 of one per cent of users.
ENGLISH DOMINATES HALF OF ALL ONLINE CONTENT DESPITE ONLY 27 PER CENT OF INTERNET USERS SPEAKING ENGLISH AS A MOTHER TONGUE. “This suggests that far from creating a democratic, global conversation,
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the internet is dominated by content created in the English-speaking developed world,” he said. “In other words, those unpleasant connotations of Western civilization – imperial domination and colonisation – are very much alive and well online. We are not a global village - not yet.”
will be different to the society we are living in now, and that we are heading in that direction seemingly without much dialogue as to whether it is the direction in which we want to head.”
THE RULE OF LAW IS BEING FLOUTED BY FILE SHARING
NEW PROPERTY RIGHTS ARE EMERGING
“Most Western jurisdictions have now made it clear that file sharing of copyright works is infringement, “Your personal information, photos and and penalties apply,” he said. “Yet what videos, your network of friends, even is now uncontroversially called illegal your likes and dislikes are now valuable downloading remains the norm. commodities,” he said. “In other words, “It could be argued that most illegal you are the owner, but the default downloaders equate their actions with setting is that Facebook can use it... jaywalking or blasphemy – laws not expected to be followed or enforced.” “Your social network is now something you own; as opposed to simply enjoy. REM: IT’S THE END OF THE I am also not saying that this is a bad WORLD AS WE KNOW IT thing; what concerns me is that it is happening by default. I don’t know The Chief Justice concluded his lecture what the implications might be of by suggesting that, should social media a society in which all of our memories, one day spell the end of our civilization, relationships and experiences are at the very least, “no one will be able commodified – but I know that it to say it was not of our own doing.” – W
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THE BIG PICTURE PROGRAM
Strength of Character UNLOCKED
In 2012 Warrane College ran one of the most ambitious programs of its 40-year history - The Big Picture Program - designed to give Year 10 and 11 students an ‘inside look’ into university life and the world of professional work.
T
he program attracted dozens of participants from schools across NSW and the ACT. It gave them the opportunity to learn about work and career success “straight from the lips of some of Australia’s top professionals”.
to get along to the four seminars held in the second half of the year.
Dr Shearer said a highlight of the program was the professional mentoring sessions that were part of the initial conference.
Among the many distinguished presenters and mentors for the program were former Fairfax CEO, “Each of the participants was All Blacks captain and Rhodes able to spend up to half an Scholar Dr David Kirk MBE, the Vice hour with someone from a The program ran over six months, Chancellor of Macquarie University, professional field they were Professor Steven Schwartz, Deputy beginning with a residential interested in. There were a whole Vice Chancellor International of seminar at Warrane during the range of professionals on hand, mid year break. Follow-up events the University of Sydney and Chief including architects, lawyers, Executive of the Worldwide Universities were then run on one afternoon doctors, accountants, scientists Network (WUN) Professor John Hearn, each month for the remainder and so on.” and Liberal MLA from the ACT Mr of the year. Alastair Coe. A member of the program’s Forty students took part in the initial “We have run pilot programs in previous Co-ordinating Committee, Mr Joaquin four-day conference, including ten from years, but nothing on the scale of this Reyes, said that he became involved Newcastle, three from Gosford and program,” said Warrane’s Assistant because the aims of the program three from Canberra. Many of those Dean and the program’s director, Dr really resonated with him. “Many who lived outside of Sydney managed Timothy Shearer. young people have no idea of what
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THE BIG PICTURE PROGRAM
Jean-Claude and other participants crafting their ‘elevator pitch’.
they will do after leaving school and, whatever goal it may be they’re aiming towards, aren’t quite sure how to get there,” he said. “The Big Picture Program aimed to help young students make career and life decisions.
“Rather than getting caught up in career day-dreams about what might be tomorrow,” he said, “the program was about helping students to build and nurture their character starting today, in the here and now.”
– “men of character who will make a lasting impact on society”.
“These were lessons I wish I had learned back in high school,” he said. “I truly believe there’s so much potential for great things locked inside of everyone. But the key to unlock it lies in the strength of one’s character.”
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THE BIG PICTURE PROGRAM
A
fter the program, the College received emails from parents who said they had noticed a big change in their sons after the program. The general message was that their sons were more enthusiastic and worked harder at their studies. One mother wrote:
“I would like to personally thank you and your team for The Big Picture Program. My son left home to attend your program as a young boy, a little lost and uncertain about his future. He arrived home so excited, positive, and focused. It’s hard to find the words to thank you enough!” “We sat down last night to have a ‘family meeting’ and I really observed a big change in his attitude and outlook on life. He is focused on his school work and organising his daily study schedule.”
“I met heaps of people, listened to amazing speeches and did some amazing things. For me this program has been one of the highlights of my life”
TESTIMONIALS
Above Left: Richard Priestly discussing a career in commerce as part of the professional mentoring session
Chris Leroy
(Sydney Grammar)
“This program is a life changer; I literally loved every moment.” Mitchell Derbyshire
(Gosford High School)
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Another mother also expressed her appreciation: “Thank you for offering The Big Picture Program this year. My son thoroughly enjoyed it and I can see that his outlook and thinking on career, study and life has really broadened.”– W
“The program was an awesome experience.” Maclean Greedy
(Merewether High School)
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A special THANKS SPEAKERS
A/ Prof. Peter Heslin, Dr David Kirk AMBASSADORS MBE, Peter Harris, Matthew Johnstone, A/ Prof. Sandra Lynch, Deanna Lane, Alistair Coe MLA, Dr Angus Brook, Prof. PARTICIPANTS Steven Schwartz, Prof. Neil Weste, Peter Saccasan, Peter Limbers, Dr James O’Sullivan, Prof. John Hearn, Hon Dominic Perrottet MP, Dr Gerald Fogarty, Dr Marco Navone, Dr Gabriel AguirreOllinger. Jared Yee, Xavier Symons, Daniel Symons, Bill Cannon, Eugene Choi, Tom Chen, Daniel Santos
PROFESSIONAL MENTORS
Bill Cannon, Mark Boffa, Michael Mendietta, Richard Priestly, Rod Cox, William Woo, Moussa Moussa, Pillai Sekhar, Dr Martin Cullen, Aidan Shi, Eugene Choi
CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE AND PERSONAL MENTORS
Dr Timothy Shearer, Joaquin Reyes, Brodie Wilkes, Thomas Ryan, Sebastian Burfitt, Daniel Marinari, Gerard Weber, Karl San Pedro, Joe Jabour, Seb James, Richard Sofatzis, Truman Biro, Matt Lennon, Andrew Santucci, Rowan Light, John Paul Hinojosa
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SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS
Ananthan Ambikairajah, Greg Aouad, Leo Phan, Brendan Wilkins, Charitha Katupitiya, Henry Kha Davin Alima, Bryce Anderson, William Brennan, Luke Brouwer, Duncan Burns, Zane Butler, Nathan Cleary, Damon Coull, Tyler Coutts, Grant Cresswell, Ben Crosbie, Joseph Daaboul, Clemens Del Rosario, Mitchell Derbyshire, Harrison Dineen, Paul Fam, Sean Graham, Maclean Greedy, Antonio Harb, Patrick Hartsuyker, Anthony Healey, Daniel Huang, Maxwell Irish, Luke Japon, Martin Khuu, Christopher Leroy, Dom Marquis, Beau McEvoy, Mason McKertich, Jean-Claude Perrottet, Xavier Poon, Arjun Raju, David Rossi, Michael Squires, Joseph Stevens, Tom Williams, Wilson Xu, Mikey Zambrano UNSW, Macquarie University, Portico Books and Fine Stationery, Watson Business Accountants, Boneham Optometrists, Box Catering, Teys Lawyers, mhscareers.com
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e
UNDER tropical heat
Christian and Rohan digging a hole for the septic tank
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WORKCAMP SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka WorkcampA GREAT SUCCESS
A group of 17 residents of Warrane spent the period leading up to Christmas this year in Sri Lanka helping to complete sporting facilities in a struggling school on the outskirts of Colombo.
T
he group spent almost three weeks working in tropical heat and high humidity building a new changing room and toilet facilities for a sports complex at St Joseph’s College, Wattala.
One of the College residents who took part, Paul Cooper, explained: “The guys who took part in the workcamp built the new facilities from scratch - levelling the site, laying foundations and building the facilities right through to painting.” “Apart from some specialist work, like fitting plumbing equipment, the guys did just about everything including carrying bricks, laying them, mixing concrete and so on. We felt the heat - because there was no shade at all, we were exposed the whole time - but it was a really satisfying project and we enjoyed every moment of it.” In addition to completing the sports facilities at the school, which is located
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WORKCAMP SRI LANKA
in Wattala, a suburb of the Western Province of the country, several volunteers from Warrane, including Matt Saxby, Chris Ng and Chris Ho helped to create a website for the school.
NORTH EASTERN
“When it was done everyone agreed it was the best school website in the country”, Paul said, “better than those of the most prestigious schools in Sri Lanka.”
NORTH CENTRAL
NORTH WESTERN
SRI LANKA CENTRAL
COLOMBO THE WORKCAMP WAS SITUATED IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF COLOMBO
UVA WESTERN SABARAGAMUWA
SOUTHERN
T
he volunteers also spent time each day teaching English and giving Physical Education classes to some of the students of the school. Part of the satisfaction that the workers felt came from the generous response of the local community and from the school’s 1200 students and 55 staff members.
“They showed incredible gratitude,” “They demonstrated their appreciation in many ways, but towards the end of our stay the entire school put on a concert for us, with all the classes from Grade 1 to 13 performing. It was incredibly entertaining.”
Another member of the Warrane group, Ananthan Ambikairajah, said he was moved by how grateful the locals were and by how contented they seemed, despite a certain amount of poverty compared with living standards in Australia. “I was very impressed by how incredibly happy they were with the very little they have in the way of material possessions,” he said.
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WORKCAMP SRI LANKA
During an elephant safari near Minneriya
“You go on a workcamp with an attitude of really wanting to make a difference in the lives of others, particularly of those less fortunate than ourselves” “They were satisfied with having their basic needs met. It makes you think about what you really need and what you just want.”
“Some of the people entertained us in their homes. They really loved to talk and to be with people. There didn’t seem to be a lot happening with the internet and some houses didn’t even seem to have television sets.”
are very important not only for students at the school but also for students from nearby schools who also use the sports facilities at St Joseph’s. The school principal, Fr Christopher Ranjith, explained that “the new facilities would help St Joseph’s ensure students are organised and that they can make full use of the sports centre and will hopefully encourage more students to get involved in the sports activities.”
“There was also the fact that the work we did brought all of us who took part “You go on a workcamp with an together. We lived in the same room attitude of really wanting to make and worked together for eight or nine a difference in the lives of others, hours a day. I made a lot of new friends particularly of those less fortunate and developed stronger friendships than ourselves,” said the Workcamp with the ones I already knew.” Director and Assistant Dean of Warrane College, Dr Timothy Shearer. The College group were told that the “Yet, it never ceases to amaze me change rooms at the sports centre how you go away realising that could not be completed due to you have learnt so many valuable financial constraints. The facilities lessons from them.” – W
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Those who took part in the camp were: Dr Tim Shearer, Fr Richard Umbers, Tio Faulkner, Rohan Stocker, Ananthan Ambikairajah, Angus Heath, Rafael Kaufmann, Christian Don Rukantha, Pablo Diaz, Paul Cooper, Daniel Tarrant, Adhithya Ramani, Chris Ho, Matt Saxby, Pat Burfitt, Jacky Wong and Chris Ng. Warrane is grateful to all those who supported the workcamp in various ways, including: Dr Maithri Perera, Joe Perera and their family; Fr Ranjith Andradi and staff and students of St Josephs College, Wattala; Justin Mosier, Álvaro Hernández Barral and the others from Gongala Centre; The Pinto family and Infotechs (Pvt) Limited; Don Rukantha and his family; Jivanka Perera and his parents; Arc@UNSW, Vivek Menon, Chalana Hewage, Nevin Alwis and other financial supporters; and Matthew Lennon,Bruno Pignone, Computers for Young and Old and the other in-kind supporters.
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WEDNESDAY NIGHT GUESTS
importance of
T
he Commissioner of Police in NSW, Mr Andrew Scipione APM, emphasised the importance of the family when he spoke at the College on 22 August 2012.
Asked what was the biggest social problem in NSW he said it was “men not acting as men and being there for their families”. Some of the most tragic cases he had come across involved kids who didn’t have a good “If you want to destroy a nation, destroy relationship with their fathers. the families,” he told Warrane residents In many cases they didn’t even know in the College’s main common room. their fathers, or their fathers had never made them feel valued. He stressed that it was extremely important for men to take their “Their fathers had never told responsibilities, particularly as fathers, them ‘I really love you, I really seriously. care for you’,” he said.
“Getting a balance between work and family life can be very hard,” he said. “Long after I stop being Commissioner of Police I will still have the same family, God willing. They have got to be more important to me.”
During his talk, Mr Scipione drew attention to the role that Christianity had played in his life. He said when he was growing up his family had not been “church affiliated”, but he had become a Christian at the age of 14.
“From that date I started to realise what was important,” he said. “Three months later my father died from a Mr Scipione said that his children had heart attack. My church family took up told him that he was important in their the challenge and taught me how to life while they were growing up, but he be a man and how to be a father and still often thinks he should have spent my life started to come together. I have more time with them. “But don’t ever a very strong faith relationship. That is forget it is the most important thing.” what brings order to my life.”
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“If you want to destroy a nation, destroy the families”
Mr Scipione said that the culture of the police force had changed over the years that he had been part of it. While there had been a certain amount of corruption among police officers in the past, he was confident that things had improved dramatically. Today the average age of a new recruit to the force was 28, the average age of officers was 38 and all recruits had a university degree. He said that most of the problems that the police have to deal with are linked to alcohol abuse:
“In about 70% of matters we deal with alcohol is a factor,” he said. Illegal drug taking was also an increasingly serious problem. When random breath testing was undertaken to check for alcohol, around one in 80 people tested positive, but with drug testing the figure was one in 20 or one in 30. – W
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WEDNESDAY NIGHT GUESTS
Words of Advice
Miranda Devine “To make a difference, you will have to engage with the world. To do so you will need a suit of armour to protect you from the pressures to conform to the relativistic norms of the age we live in.” When Sydney Daily Telegraph journalist Miranda Devine visited Warrane she gave residents some rare insights into the life of a newspaper columnist and urged them to stand up for their values in public debates. “I certainly don’t have all the answers. But when you are writing a column it is not like being at a dinner party and being polite. You have to formulate a point of view and you have to express it vigorously.” “That is a challenge that you all have ahead of you as young men and future leaders.” Ms Devine lamented that society seemed to have lost sight of the value of what had been known to past generations as “cardinal virtues”. They included virtues like prudence, temperance, justice, fortitude and humility - the nurturing of which was essential to the health of any society.
Michael Lawrence One of Australia’s most successful film-makers, Mr Michael Lawrence, shared some of his own life lessons with Warrane residents. His main message to students was to get in and have a go, no matter what direction life took them in. “You are what you dream,” he said. “And right now you are building the attitudes and dreams that you will have for the rest of your lives.” “Don’t be scared to say ‘I don’t know - I need some help’,” he said. “There are a lot of people out there who want good things for other people.” Michael assured residents that they could achieve anything they wanted in life as long as they had a plan and believed in something greater than themselves.
Joseph Rizk “Diversity offers enormous benefits,” ... “There may be a few hiccups along the way, but diversity gives a phenomenal amount of strength.” The Managing Director of Arab Bank Australia Limited, Mr Joseph Rizk, emphasised the great advantages that racial and cultural diversity offered Australia when he spoke College residents. Mr Rizk said it was important for a bank or corporation to survive, but it was more important that it “gives back to the community”. Asked about balancing career with family life, Mr Rizk warned residents that they would have to be prepared to make sacrifices during their careers. “At the NAB when I was asked if I would consider going overseas, I said no because I had a family,” he said. “Your family is the most important thing. You have got to make sacrifices. I gave up playing golf on Saturdays so I could spend more time with the family.” “In our social structure, the most important thing is the family unit. Families cannot rely on schools alone to teach things like personal discipline and values. If we are relying on the government and the courts to do it, then the results are not always favourable.”– W
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2012 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS Benji Vella GAP year was a good decision
Winner of the 2012 Warrane Cultural Achievement Scholarship, Benjamin Vella, has been a high achiever both at school and during the gap year he took after the HSC to attend a performing arts school in the United Kingdom. Benjamin took his GAP year in the United Kingdom in 2011, working in a specialist Performing Arts Boarding School for students aged 8 to 18. “I was responsible for areas within the boarding houses and running different activities and trips for students at the school,” he said. “I also had the responsibility of classroom assistant, providing support for teachers in both academic and vocational classes, and was involved in the development of many of the school’s major productions.
During high school Benjamin was an elected member of the Student Leadership Council, and a school co-ordinator for the St Vincent De Paul Conference. Benjamin’s interest in the performing arts led to involvement in many cultural activities and opportunities during high school. He studied Drama in the HSC, represented the school at regional TheatreSports competitions and was a part of the school debating team. He also studied at the Ecnad Performing Arts School, where he took subjects from the AMEB Speech and Drama syllabus. At Ecnad, he also took dance classes and competed at the annual Tamworth Eisteddfod in Poetry, Speech and Improvisation.
At high school, at McCarthy Catholic College in Tamworth, he received awards for HSC Subject excellence in Drama, Studies of Religion and Information Processes Technology.
Matthew Lennon 2012 Academic Achievement Award
For a first-year university student, Matthew Lennon already has an impressive list of academic, cultural and sporting achievements behind him, but Matthew regards his community service work as one of his biggest achievements. The winner of one of Warrane’s residential scholarships for 2012 says he started community service work while at school by volunteering to collect for the Salvation Army and St Vincent De Paul Society annual collections and took part in the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.
Matthew says his Catholic faith has been a driving force in his achievements and that it was Warrane’s “strong emphasis on Christian faith” that in part attracted him to the College. He said he valued Warrane so highly that he turned down an offer to study Philosophy and Psychology at New College, Oxford University. His academic achievements at school were outstanding. His ranking in the State was 99.90 and he came 3rd in the state in physics. During 2010, he completed extension 1 and extension 2 Mathematics, scoring 99 and 98 respectively, for which he received school awards.
“I also completed thirty hours of community service,” he said, “which was spent in local nursing homes, cleaning and painting public bathrooms and extensive public rubbish clean ups. He went on to become a member of the Beecroft Branch of the St Vincent de Paul Society and took part in bi-monthly service projects that involved visits to the nursing home, manual labour for the physically disabled or afflicted and visits to the private homes of the elderly. 15
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Thomas Ryan Warrane’s Community Service Scholarship 2012
The winner of Warrane’s Community Service Scholarship for 2012, Thomas Ryan, is a high achiever on many levels. Thomas graduated from St. Ignatius College, Riverview with the Mark Robinson Prize for All Round Endeavour and Achievement. In 2011 spent a GAP year at Belvedere College in Dublin, Ireland where he worked as a teacher’s aide, helped out as a Special Needs Assistant and also volunteered to help organise retreats for the students. Thomas has taken part in many community service projects, but the one that he found most fulfilling was a trip to Cambodia to teach English to young underprivileged children.
were still able to look after each other. The most important thing for them was the family, not worldly goods.” Thomas also helped out at Belvedere with the running of the St Vincent de Paul Society and with Soup Runs, taking soup and food to the homeless people on the streets of Dublin. And he took part in a Charity Walk from Dublin to Galway (a distance of 250 kilometres) which raised over 60,000 euros for three charities. Thomas’s other interests are sport- he is an avid supporter of the Collingwood Football Club - and politics. He is a member of the Liberal Party and an Electorate Volunteer in the office of the federal member for North Sydney and Shadow Treasurer, Joe Hockey.
“Coming from a comfortable environment, it was certainly an eye-opening experience,” he said. “It was moving to see how families who had so much less than we had but
Sebastian Burfitt Sporting Achievement Scholarship 2012
The winner of Warrane’s 2012 Sporting Achievement Scholarship, Sebastian Burfitt, is an all-rounder, both on and off the sports field. Among the sports he competed in at high levels while at school were Rugby, Cricket, Soccer, Athletics, Cross Country and Touch Rugby. Earlier this year, his Rugby career entered a new phase when he was selected to represent NSW in the NSW Suburban Rugby Union team. “We played Queensland and NSW Country,” he says, “and I was selected in the first fifteen over seven thousand players.” Before launching into his Economics/Arts course at UNSW, Sebastian decided to broadened his experience by taking a gap year and launching into full-time work and overseas travel. For much of the year he worked for a carpet cleaning firm, Butler Carpet Cleaning, working on carpets, tiles and upholstery in domestic and commercial buildings.
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In mid-August, Sebastian had saved enough to set off for Pamplona in Spain for an International Spanish Course which drew hundreds of students from all over the world. He says his language skills benefited from staying with a Spanish family, forcing him to speak Spanish full time. “Thanks to that I returned to Australia with quite fluent Spanish,” he says. On returning to Australia, Sebastian set about helping to organise a workcamp in Fiji. The camp, organised by the Nairana Study Centre in Sydney’s north west, was the third overseas social service project that he has taken part in. It was centred in Vuake, a village in the northern Yasawa Islands of Fiji. – W
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SPORTS SHIELD REPORT
WINS
TEAM SPIRIT
FOR WARRANE
After a thrilling final day, Warrane won the 2012 UNSW Inter-College Sports Shield, but it was a nail-biting contest with New College all the way. Warrane went into the final day needing to win both the Tennis tournament and the Rugby League final and victory came only after some hard-fought battles. In Rugby League, Warrane trailed at half time, with New College leading one try to nil. But by the time the final whistle went off, Warrane had triumphed three tries to one.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2012 SPORTING YEAR
1ST PLACE
in Rugby Union, Rugby league, Tennis, Touch Footy, Water Polo and Cross Country (with Rob Joseph winning the event for the third consecutive year)
2ND PLACE in Cricket, Squash
3RD PLACE in Soccer
SUPPORTER OF THE YEAR Christopher Scholes COACH OF THE YEAR Surjeet Atwal CAPTAIN OF THE YEAR Joseph Watson MOST DEDICATED Lloyd Cresswell SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR Rohan Stocker
Over at the tennis courts Truman Biro took out the singles title, six love, while James Watson and Max Stannard won the doubles, two sets to one. Although there were many stirring individual performances during the year, the hard-working Sports Directors, Gabe Perrottet and Roy Atherton, agreed that the victory was primarily due to a real team effort from all College residents, both participants and supporters. “It was a lot of hard work,” Gabe said, “but it definitely paid off. It was Warrane’s high participation level and stirring team spirit that won the day in the end.”– W
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HIDDEN TALENTS OF RESIDENTS
TALENTS HIDDEN
OF RESIDENTS AT THE COLLEGE
Dallen Chan
Oliver O’Sullivan Chris Eddes
A YouTube Hit
Oli O'Sullivan goes west to help youngsters
Resident aims for world sailing title
Warrane resident Dallen Chan has become a hit on YouTube with his personal video channel notching up more than three-quarters of a million hits.
Seventh-floor resident Oliver O’Sullivan has been taking several hours a week out of his busy schedule in third-year Arts at Notre Dame University to help school students from Sydney’s West to broaden their horizons.
Third-year resident Chris Eddes this year became a national sailing champion, but he is not resting on his laurels - he has his sights set on a world title.
On the channel, the second-year engineering student plays piano, directs music videos and showcases his talent for singing, dancing and comedy. Among the piano covers are pieces made famous by artists like Taylor Swift, Shakira, Rihanna and Stan Walker. Dallen’s channel is popular among Warrane’s residents partly because it features the talents of many of them. The videos include performances at College band nights, short movies with residents in leading roles and one of the key events on the Warrane calendar - the annual Warrane Billy Cart Race.
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Oliver, or “Oli” as most people around College have come to know him, travels out to Mount Druitt to help out at the Mirrabooka Study Centre.
Fighting off stiff competition from all over the country he took line honours in the 2012 Spiral Nationals at Teralba Sailing Club, Lake Macquarie.
The centre for boys seeks to help youngsters “grow in character, competency, maturity and concern for others”, through educational programs and mentoring.
Chris, a former student at Marist College in Canberra, said he was introduced to sailing at a young age when he joined the “sea scouts” in the nation’s capital.
Mrirrabooka, which is “built on a spirit of service and friendship” was inspired by the teachings of St Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei and the inspiration behind Warrane College.
After completing his school studies and moving to Warrane he had a hard time finding somewhere to continue his training program, but he finally settled on Wollahra Sailing Club, at Connell’s Point, where he now spends around six to ten hours training each week. – W
The director of Mirrabooka Study Centre is former Warrane tutor, Edwin Choi.
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| Alumni News
Tomohiro Harada’s “long-time hobby” is travelling and he believes that Warrane has played a major role in preparing him for the journey. WE PREPARE YOU FOR THE WORLD
T
omohiro Harada’s “long-time hobby” is travelling and he believes that Warrane has played a major role in preparing him for the journey.
He is fulsome in his praise of the College: “I’m very proud to be part of the Warrane family. The level of mutual acceptance among residents of Warrane is a primary example of successful integration and multiculturalism. I’ve gone through 16 houses, eight schools, and lived with hundreds of people over the years and, trust me, Warrane should be very proud of its internationality. It was there that I truly learned what it means to be an international citizen. The fact that we remain in touch proves how much Warrane old boys are valued and I am really honoured to be part of this group.”
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“I’m very proud to be part of the Warrane family. The level of mutual acceptance among residents... is a primary example of successful integration and multiculturalism.” Tomohiro, who was a Warrane resident in 2009, is presently studying International Studies and German at the University of St Andrews – the oldest university in Scotland, and hopes to graduate in May next year. Over the past few years he has been a Visiting Student at the University of Vienna (June 2010), at Georgetown University (July 2011), Moscow State Institute of International Relations (June to July 2013), and Iceland School of Energy (August 2013). He has also worked for the International Development Agency in Bonn, Germany (from August 2012 to August 2012), took part in the International Youth Leadership Conference in Prague (June 2013) and in April 2012 gave a talk at a TEDx conference on ‘Redefining our home in a globalized world’.
His memories of Warrane are still strong, he says, particularly those of O-Week. “People around me now hardly believe that my floor carried a couch across the Sydney Harbor Bridge,” he says. “There are lots of things I miss about college life, like the casual banter near the entrance, trips in the college van, floor meetings, and I very much miss the routine.” Asked what advice he would give to today’s residents, Tomohiro says: “To live in Warrane is a privilege and a very rewarding experience. The Warrane experience teaches you how to accept different cultures and different people and how to live in harmony and to become an international citizen.”– W
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SUCCEEDING IN THE BIG APPLE
A
fter growing up in Mexico, Julian decided to move Down Under to pursue his undergraduate studies at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology where he to completed a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) degree with Distinction. In 2003 he became a resident at Warrane and took up his first job at marketing consultancy Millward Brown. After only two years in Sydney the firm moved him to the Philippines to open an office in Manila and he worked there for three years carrying out projects for big multinationals in the region.
| Alumni News
“Seeing your ideas materialise into new businesses is really fulfilling”. “Living in South East Asia was one of the best moves in my career,” he says. “The commercial growth in the region was energising, and immersing into a completely new culture was truly fascinating.” After seven years living on the other side of the world, Julian was missing his family in Mexico so he chose to move to New York so that he could be closer to them. It turned out to be a good move, seeing him enter the intriguing world of innovation consultancy. He was hired as a Senior Strategist by ?What If! Innovation. “Seeing your ideas materialise into new businesses is really fulfilling. Last year we got a range of products into the market including a new range of healthy beverages for kids and an insurance business for pets leading to millions of dollars of growth for our clients”
PAUL MCFARLANE now works for at the RTA Headquarters in Parramatta. He recently graduated with a Masters of Engineering Science. Paul married Katherine last year and the
couple along with Paul’s parents and sister dropped into College on the graduation day. “Coming to Warrane is like coming home” said Paul’s mother, Mary. Everyone agreed with the sentiment.
WILLIE WONG is working for the family company doing property development, building construction, quarry operations and sure like. Willie is still playing golf once a week but his bad knees have since prevented him from playing tennis, squash, badminton and
soccer. “I injured my knee back in 1971” he said, ”playing soccer for Warrane on the Village Green. I’m due for a knee replacement surgery but keep on putting it off…”. He and his wife, Anna, have five children – three girls and two boys –of which three of them are married.
Clearly the company was pleased with Julian’s efforts. In March 2010, the firm appointed him as “Lead Inventor Innovation”. One of the highlights of Julian’s life since leaving Warrane came last year when he married Fernanda, a fashion designer. “New York is one of the world’s creative capitals,” he says, “and my wife and I love the constant inspiration and the continuous energy needed to foster creative careers.” “Having said that, I really miss Sydney, the beach, the city, and especially the great friends I made at Warrane!” Julian is planning to stay in Manhattan for the foreseeable future but looks forward to a trip to Australia timed to escape the brutal New York winter! – W
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| Alumni News
“Reflecting on his days at Warrane he says one of the things he appreciated most about the College was the friendships and the fellowship that he experienced.” When James McLoughlin left Warrane a decade and a half ago, he took the decision, along with two of his mates from College - Garren Hamilton and Adam Webb - to join the NSW Police Force.
H
is first job was as a uniformed officer working out of the Merrylands police station in Western Sydney. He then moved on to detective work, working with Central Detectives, then the Drug Squad and then the Gang Squad.
But James’s career is not something he could have predicted at all while he was doing his university course in the late 1990s. “I studied Arts with a major in History,” he said. “When I started out, at the University of Newcastle, I was mainly interested in Philosophy and Ancient History and I hadn’t even considered the force. “But when I finished up at UNSW, after studying mostly English and History, the idea just came to me one day. So I joined up soon after graduating and I have been there ever since.”
Today, James lives with his wife Julieann and their four children - Annabel, Patrick, Alex and John - in the Blue Mountains. Their children in the Pared Schools of Montgrove College for Girls at Orchard Hills and Wollemi College for Boys at Werrington. Reflecting on his days at Warrane he says one of the things he appreciated most about the College was the friendships and the fellowship that he experienced. “One of the best things about Warrane is that your friends are right there with you most of the time - you don’t need to go out of your way to catch up with them. “I am still good friends with many of the old Warrane residents, but it gets harder all the time to get together.”– W
PROFESSOR TONY SHANNON
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OLD BOY SEES ALL SIDES OF LIFE
Warrane’s former Master, eminent academic, Professor Tony Shannon AM, was inducted as an Honorary Fellow during formal dinner on Wednesday 1 August, 2012.
notable contribution The honour was conferred in recognition to his profession and, as with other of Tony’s outstanding College fellows, his contribution to the exemplary sense of College which began “the importance of the well before his decade mission, objectives as Master, starting in and functions of the year 2000. It also the College”. recognised Tony’s
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About Warrane WARRANE COLLEGE is an independent residential college for men affiliated with the University of New South Wales. The name “Warrane” is derived from the name given to Sydney Cove by the original inhabitants. It is sometimes spelled as “Warrang” on early European maps.
Twenty-five residents, including two residential tutors, make up each residential unit of the College. Each student belongs to a community which is small enough to be personal yet large enough to offer cultural diversity and an extensive network of friendship and academic support.
Since 1970, Warrane has been a home away from home for thousands of young men studying at university. In the tradition of Oxbridge colleges, Warrane supports the pursuit of academic excellence and all-round development within a community of university students, teachers and researchers.
Each year more than forty guests from academia, politics, the professions, business and sport address the residents. This fosters the professional and personal aspirations of the residents through contact with people of high professional standing.
The home-like environment of the College encourages scholarship, friendship and the development of character. Warrane promotes a wholesome atmosphere that is compatible with the development of good habits.
The College promotes a large range of academic, cultural, social, spiritual and sporting activities as well as community projects to give each resident an opportunity for personal growth. Warrane College is a project of Education Development Association, a not-for-profit company and a registered charity. The pastoral care of the College has been entrusted to Opus Dei, an institution of the Catholic Church.
UPDATE MY DETAILS
GIVING BACK
Stay connected with Warrane by keeping your contact details up-to-date.
If you would like to give something back to Warrane and support current students there are plenty of different ways to help.
Please call or e-mail us if you've changed address or e-mail. (02) 9313 0300
info@warrane.unsw.edu.au
Here are some of the options:
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To discuss opportunities to support Warrane please contact
Don’t forget to follow us through Social Media www.facebook.com/warranecollege
You can also keep up-to-date with News and Upcoming events online at www.warrane.unsw.edu.au
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Make a tax deductible donation Fund a scholarship and bursary Leave a bequest Provide mentoring or sponsorship Workplace giving
Arthur Escamilla dean@warrane.unsw.edu.au
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