A weekend of welcome and celebration: celebrating 75 years of Aquinas
It’s been a weekend of celebrations and festivities at Aquinas College, as we welcomed our new students on Saturday 22nd February, and kicked off our 75th celebrations at our Collegiate Opening Service on Sunday 23rd February.
We were delighted to welcome 87 new first years and their families to Aquinas on Saturday, and despite the warm weather, our returning students worked hard to ensure that our new students quickly felt at home. At the opening assembly, our Student Club President for 2025, Claire Byrne, reflected on her own memories of arriving at Aquinas, encouraging the first years that ‘5 seconds of courage’ is all that’s needed to strike up a conversation with a stranger who may well be your future best friend.
All students returned to College on Sunday in time for our Collegiate Opening Service to officially launch our 75th year celebrations. We were honoured to have the company of one of the original students at Aquinas, Dr John Cox, and his wife Carola, both of whom were present at the opening assembly of Aquinas College, held in Orientation Week of 1950. Dr Cox read the first reading about the importance of wisdom, and students were somewhat awed to be in the company of an original Aquinian. Dr Sarah Moller, acting Rector, spoke about the origins of Aquinas College, which was funded by the wider Catholic community who wanted to provide the opportunity for country students to attend university. Over the past 75 years, Aquinas College has been blessed and has flourished into something far greater than the original vision, welcoming 196 students this year to our learning community and Aquinas family.
At the conclusion of the service, the whole college participated in a procession down Palmer Place to the Gleeson Lawns, where everyone enjoyed a family luncheon.
After fare-welling parents, students gathered for an official Welcome to Country with Uncle Johnny, then freshers met their tutors, in preparation for heading to their campuses on Academic Monday. The first Lawrie Smart event for the year was held after dinner, and students put on their house colours and got the year off to a flying start with tunnel ball. The evening ended with a social event organised by the Student Club. All students agreed that they felt excited and positive about the academic year ahead, and enthusiastic to be members of the Aquinas family.