Welcome to the Autumn edition of the alumni e-newsletter.

2021 has been a welcome return to a little bit of normality for our Damascus College community, where we returned to onsite learning and classes as normal, but we were challenged with a snap lock-down earlier this year, which only lasted a few days, thank heavens. We pray and hope that each member of our community remains COVID free and that the world overcomes this pandemic sooner rather than later.

Our students and staff have settled back into learning and teaching onsite, where we commenced the year holding on to some of the invaluable lessons we learnt throughout 2020. Many of our large-scale events were held with reduced capacities to adhere to COVID guidelines, including the Academic Assembly and the Opening Mass.

This year we celebrate the 140 year anniversary of our college, dating back to 1881. Past students and staff of Sacred Heart College, St Paul’s Technical College, St Martin’s in the Pines and Damascus College are invited to join us in celebrating this milestone, and we invite you to visit us online to keep up to date with our 140 year celebratory events.

Our alumni would have been looking forward to their class reunions in 2020 which had to be postponed to this year. We are thrilled to have already hosted three of five 2020 reunions throughout April and May, and we will also host the 2021 reunions in July and August. It certainly is a bumper year of welcoming our alumni back to our beautiful campus, with a total of 10 reunions this year. I wish to take this opportunity to thank Korina Hegert, Alumni & Development Officer, for her wonderful coordination of these reunions, Korina’s passion and enthusiasm always make the events a special occasion for all involved.

A couple of events that are coming up on the Damascus calendar, that we wish to invite alumni and the wider community to attend, are the Bright Futures breakfast and our annual guest speaker event, that we were unable to host in 2020.

The Bright Futures Scholarship Breakfast will be held on Thursday 3 June, 7am where we welcome our special guest speaker Jocelyn Bignold (OAM) to address the audience. Jocelyn is the CEO of McAuley Community Services, which provides support for women and children experiencing family violence and homelessness. Jocelyn has over 25 years’ service to the community and was recognised for her commitment to making people’s lives better with a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2020.

The breakfast will be a fantastic opportunity to network with like-minded members of our community, hear from our guest speaker whilst enjoying a sumptuous sit-down breakfast, in our new Damascus Events Centre. Get your tickets here.

The annual guest speaker event this year is on Wednesday 23 June, 7pm and we welcome our guest speaker, Luke Kennedy, a motivational speaker and mental health advocate and he will address our community on the following topic: “Improve your mental health by developing self-care strategies and resilience.” This free community event is aimed at parents and guardians within the Ballarat community, register here.

This week we welcomed around 200 guests to celebrate our annual Mother’s Day Liturgy and Breakfast. Due to COVID guidelines, we limited attendee numbers, but we were extremely excited that the event sold out within a few days, showing the growing commitment to these quality events at Damascus. It was wonderful to welcome mothers and the significant women in our lives to the liturgy that was held in the John Shannon Centre, followed by a sumptuous breakfast in the Damascus Events Centre.

As with any school community, there is always lots happening at Damascus and to tell our community a little about what our students and staff are up to, we produce our bi-annual publication called “The Road”. The Autumn edition of The Road is out this week, and alumni and parents will receive this publication in their mailboxes within the news two weeks. The Autumn edition includes a host of articles including student profiles, event updates, student celebrations, anniversaries, sports reviews, awards and much more. The beautiful front cover celebrates this year's 30th anniversary of The Final Hours, our College production that tells of the final hours of Jesus' life.

I wish to thank the many members of our alumni community that have taken the time out of their busy schedules this year already, to attend their 2020 reunions, it is always a lovely occasion to see so many past students together reminiscing about what school used to be like, 50, 40, 30 years ago. As a college, we now look forward to welcoming more alumni back to Damascus throughout the rest of this year.

Thank-you and stay safe everyone.

Sarah Boswell

Leader of Marketing & Development

In the Autumn 2021 edition of The Road is an abridged version of this article. Fortunately, the digital edition doesn't have the same constraints so here is the whole article from Regina...

Two Valuable Lessons

Regina Molloy, Class of 1990

My name is Regina Molloy, Class of 1990 and I attended Sacred Heart College and St Martins in the Pines referred ‘St Micks in the Sticks’. It feels like yesterday that I was at high school. The years have flown by so quickly. I am now 48 years old and have lived a privileged and wonderfully adventurous life; I’ve travelled the world working and have now spent more of my career working outside of Australia than within. I live in Johannesburg South Africa and operate my own international mineral exploration consultancy.

I was one of seven children growing up in the small town of Skipton near Ballarat where my farm life taught me the swagger that comes from committed hard work and an entrepreneurial spirit. I spent my teens dreaming about the adventure of travel, I loved reading and learning about other countries, their cultures, what they ate and what they wore; it was a natural fascination for me. At this time I had no idea of where I would end up later in life, I just wanted to travel outside of Ballarat and Victoria and see something new, I never realised I was an explorer at heart.

My Catholic education taught me two valuable lessons. I have carried these lessons unknowingly for most of my life. The first being the Golden Rule defined by “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” Luke 6:31 and Mathew 7:12. The second is to act with honesty towards yourself and others, even when no one is looking. Both these values were reinforced to us at school and in my home life and I’ve only realised later in life how these values helped me prosper financially and have kept me safe in dangerous places that I have travelled and worked.

After year twelve, I attended Ballarat University College and graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science, a double major in Geology, I was 20 years old when I finished my honours thesis. My first job was in Kalgoorlie Western Australia where I worked underground in a gold mine, back then, few women worked underground however my adventurous spirit was easily adaptable so I found it more exciting than dangerous.

At age 25, my yearning to work overseas landed me in Chile, during the Pinochet rule, which was a serious military regime, quite different to the Australian lifestyle where you don’t see military arms in public spaces. I worked in Chile and Argentina and I couldn’t believe I was paid to walk up 6,000m mountains doing geology scouting work at high altitude and was paid for it, I probably would have done it for free I enjoyed it so much. I travelled to Peru where local militants and conflict zones were overcome by Peru’s military regime; I climbed mountains in Peru and had a wonderful time.

Fast forward to today 2021, and I have worked as a geologist for 26 years in lots of different countries around the world in search of finding mines with the ultimate objective to benefit society. I have worked in rural areas with diverse cultures including Australia, Chile, Argentina, USA, Liberia, Guinea, Gabon, Tanzania, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria & Zambia. I have studied rocks in search of mines for gold, copper, uranium, iron ore, coal, potash, lead and zinc, cobalt and graphite.

When a mine is discovered and commissioned, it brings great wealth to local communities via jobs, to governments in the form of taxes (for doing very little I might add) and future generations to benefit from the direct and indirect profits mines make. Everyone loves a profitable mine but they are very hard to find. Most mines bring at least $1-3 billion dollars of benefit over a mine life, its big business however success rates of finding a mine are only 1-3% so it’s high risk and high reward investment process. For me, finding a mine somewhere on the globe is the thrill of the adventure as the least explored areas are usually located in remote hard to access terrains. Mining is easy compared to finding and developing a mine and even if you find a mine, it's not always permissible to mine for various reasons, this also adds to the risk and challenge of mineral exploration.

Getting back to my educational values; “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, this value stood by me in times where I was in the thick of business negotiation in foreign countries in unfamiliar cultures, particularly during dignitary and tribal negotiations as their negotiation terms are generally not commercially mainstream. When I applied the Golden rule during these negotiations, by treating the dignitary leaders as I would towards myself, I was always able to negotiate my way through to achieve the goals set out and not once have I experienced opposition from a tribal Elder or King, Mayor or Minister of government. I always negotiate from a position of respect and it has paid off well in all my projects and business relationships.

My personal values to ensure those around me were treated as I would treat myself kept me and my team safe when I worked in post-war Liberia, a country where every piece of infrastructure was destroyed in a brutal war. There were no road bridges left standing in the entire country as all had been blown up during the war. People’s houses showed the scars of bullet holes in the conflict areas. There were no police or courts to protect civilians or foreign business, only the United Nations military posts stationed across the country-maintained peace at a cost of USD$4Bn per year paid by the United Nations. I hired local community groups as our security and treated people as I would want to be treated given the tragic circumstances they had endured and lived through; emotional scars were evident everywhere including the workforce we employed in our mineral exploration program. I remember the hand-painted signs that the government erected with slogans to stop the rape of women and children, it was evident how much society had degraded during the war years that men thought rape was acceptable.

Interestingly, the Golden Rule today commonly forms part of the governance protocol where companies try to include society in the benefit of their core being along with values related to the environment and economic distribution and contribution.

For those students at Damascus today, I recommend taking note of the Golden Rule; it challenges you to put others on equal footing as yourself and to think for the collective benefit of all around you.

In Johannesburg, there is a famous local proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”. This proverb speaks to the Golden Rule in that if you develop the ability to think collectively for the good of all, you will achieve far more than you can ever achieve on your own. By treating others, the same as you would treat yourself, enables you to challenge yourself and achieve and do better than those that don’t, and in this process, you develop the life skills to enable prosperity for yourself and those around you. The Golden Rule has also taught me that when we treat others, equally to ourselves, we achieve equality in our society.

The second lesson I learnt was, to be honest with myself and those around me.

I have learnt both personally and professionally that acting with honesty even when no one is looking, speaks to a person of high integrity. When I was young, I thought my honest approach in life was a curse, as I felt some people took advantage and relied on my honesty for their personal gain, this experience was repeated often. However later in life, I realised the journey of my life where I integrated with people from different countries and cultures, taught me that my honest approach enabled trust in my relationships with diverse people, I learnt that my honest quality was appealing to others and people trusted me. When you have built up a bank of trust, you can easily leverage from these relationships over time and as you get older, the trust bank gets very full and opens the gateway to more senior responsibilities both professionally and within society.

An example of my honesty. One day I visited a tribal Chief and I asked him if the company I worked for could come and explore on their land. I explained we were a mining company looking for a mine and if there was a mine it would have a material impact on the local existing community. If there was no mine, the company would leave within a few years and the investment would cease. These are standard honest engagements I conduct with all the communities in which I operate; I inform dignitaries and community leaders with my honest opinion of the mining process and its likely impact both positive and negative on their community.

The Chief seemed baffled by my visit as a Country Manager and my simple question “could we conduct mineral exploration work on your land?”

In response, the Chief asked me “why are you coming to ask me if you can come and explore on our land?” This was not a normal response, so I was a bit surprised, I responded “well if you came to my house and onto my land, I would expect you to ask me so I am returning you the courtesy of how I would expect you to treat me”.

The Chief was elderly and contemplated and finally responded, he said: “I thank-you for travelling all this way and asking me, the tribal chief if you can explore on our land because everyone else prior to you just came and took whatever they wanted from our land without asking or without permission”. I realised this was a significant moment for this tribe. A company much larger than their small community came and asked permission to explore their land. We were the first visitors who had been respectful, and didn’t just take, but asked permission to explore.

From that point forward, we had no issues with the local communities where we operated and they supported our project and provided us with the necessary community security we depended on. The national government was so impressed with our process; they made our engagement process part of their mandated protocol for future companies. It’s just one example of when you treat others with the same honesty and respect which you treat yourself, they will return those same values to you.

My advice is to remain honest with yourself and others. When you are honest with yourself, your life is easier to navigate and if you are dishonest with others, how can you expect others to trust you over time. It makes the act of being dishonest less appealing. There are no short-cuts in life, only detours.

Please join us for the

BRIGHT FUTURES SCHOLARSHIP BREAKFAST

Thursday 3 June, from 7am - 8.45am at Damascus College, Geelong Rd

Special Guest Speaker is

JOCELYN BIGNOLD (OAM)

Members of our Damascus and wider community are invited to attend our upcoming Bright Futures breakfast, where attendees will hear from our guest speaker Jocelyn Bignold (OAM), whilst enjoying a sumptuous sit down breakfast. The Bright Futures Scholarship is for the purpose of supporting students and families who are experiencing financial or personal disadvantage, and who demonstrate a strong commitment to social justice activities and contribute to their local community.

This scholarship is awarded annually to one incoming Year 7 student for 50% tuition relief, and is awarded for the duration of a student's enrolment at Damascus College (maximum of 6 years). In holding this fundraising breakfast, the College seeks to extend the Bright Futures scholarship opportunity to be able to offer it to more than one Year 7 student per year. Proceeds raised at the event will support this worthy scholarship fund, in order to extend its reach to multiple students each year.

A bit about our Guest Speaker…

Jocelyn is the CEO of McAuley Services for Women which provides support for women and children experiencing family violence and homelessness. Jocelyn has over 25 years’ experience in community services, policy development, management and advocacy. Her work has led to an extensive collaboration with Government and other non-Government organisations to improve policy responses and service systems designed to support those in need.

Jocelyn was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Australia Day Honours. The Award recognises her service to the community through social welfare organisations and her leadership and commitment to making lives better for women and children who have faced family violence and homelessness.

In Ballarat, McAuley Services for Woman reaches out to the local community through McAuley House Ballarat.

You are invited to nominate a past student or staff member to receive the Shining Light Award, to recognise their significant contribution in their chosen field so that they can be an inspiration for our current and future students.

As we grow older, settle into our lives and careers it is easy to forget the challenges we faced when we were at school regarding our future and what we wanted to do. During the teenage years, young people have to make many decisions, some as simple as what they want for lunch, but many as challenging as what subjects to study for the future job, career or paycheck that they want. But even before they make that decision they have to have decided what they want to "do" or "be".

The Shining Light Award for Inspiring Alumni is designed to identify the members of our community who will motivate students to achieve more than they thought possible. To inspire and energize them to greater heights. To be an example that they can relate to because the nominated alumni are from the same school as them. By showing them how much the nominee has achieved, students will be encouraged to do more.

So, if you know a past student or staff member who you find inspirational. Who you think of and go "wow". Who, when you look at all they have accomplished you ask yourself "how"? Then they are probably someone our students should know about. It's an opportunity for you to acknowledge them, and to help our students soar.

Please nominate and provide inspiration to our students.

The Autumn edition of The Damascus College publication The Road is another bumper edition full of stories and pictures from our alumni, students and staff.

On Sunday morning 14 March, Damascus College warmly welcomed back almost 50 students and staff from the Class of 1970, as they were finally able to come together to celebrate their 50 (plus 1)-year reunion. Members of this class group had been hoping to celebrate together in April 2020 but were stoic when the event was delayed due to COVID restrictions and guidelines. Some members of this cohort still found that they were unable to attend because of travel restrictions and challenges but are looking forward to the next get together.

As Damascus College is proudly celebrating 140 Years of Catholic Education this year, it was a pleasure to have in attendance Sisters of Mercy Veronica, Therese, Marie and Geraldine. All four have very strong ties with our school in various roles including past students, teachers and leaders.

This event was a fitting reminder that together, we celebrate our proud history and recognise and celebrate our foundation schools, Sacred Heart College, St Paul’s Technical College and St Martin’s in the Pines; that past students and staff of these foundation Colleges and Damascus College form our alumni.

Guests delighted in reconnecting with old friends as they enjoyed the wonderful new gathering space in the Damascus Events Centre. Deputy Principal Chris Grant was on hand to welcome alumni and guests before they enjoyed a delicious lunch and school tour. Sarah Boswell, Leader of Marketing & Development for the College, attended and spoke about the importance of giving and the Bright Futures Scholarship.

Past student Mary Tehan spoke of the enduring benefit of the education that she and her fellow classmates received at Sacred Heart and St Martin’s in the Pines. That for many of the borders, it was really a “home away from home” and that life-long friendships were formed. Mary, on behalf of those in attendance, thanked the Mercy Sisters for the quality of their education and for the respect, love and kindness that they received as students.

Sr Veronica addressed those gathered, thanked them for the impressive and spirited students they were, and commended them for the lives they had lived so far. She shared with the group her ongoing commitment and connection to Damascus, that she had recently attended three events in the past two weeks and was comforted by the calibre of students enrolled.

At the end of the event, the cohort from the Class of 1970 was treated to a tour of the campus so that they could see that while the “bones” of the original buildings remain, a dynamic and modern learning institution has grown.

We are pleased to announce the dates for the 2021 Class Reunions.

• 50 Year - Class of 1971 Sunday 15 August 2021, Welcome Reception and lunch at Damascus from 11:30am - 3pm(ish)
• 40 Year - Class of 1981 Saturday 31 July 2021, Welcome Reception at Damascus from 2 - 4pm with an afterparty at Oscars
• 30 Year - Class of 1991 Saturday 7 August 2021, Welcome Reception at Damascus from 2 - 4pm with an afterparty at Oscars
• 20 Year - Class of 2001 Sunday 8 August 2021, Welcome Reception at Damascus from 2 - 4pm
• 10 Year - Class of 2011 Friday 30 July 2021, Welcome Reception at Damascus from 6.30pm to 8.30pm with an afterparty at the Freight Bar

Please note: As circumstances change with relation to COVID-19 restrictions, these dates may be rescheduled.

It is our aim to have as many of your exit year group as possible attend and participate, including those who may have left at other times but identify best with this year group.

For full details regarding the reunion celebrations and to get your tickets please visit Reunions & Events

If you are interested in joining the planning committee for your 2021 Class reunion please contact our Alumni Officer.