Daramalan College Past Students. Achievements, Art, Sport, Student Activism
WHERE ARE THEY NOW – USA (UPDATE)
Brenda Croft from 1981, currently a leading First Nations artist and scholar from the ANU, has been awarded the Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University for the 2023-2024 academic year. Yep, THAT Harvard, America’s oldest and most prestigious University. The award will see her as the inaugural First Nations woman to take up the role. Impressive!
Brenda is from the Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra peoples from the Northern Territory, with Anglo-Australian/ Chinese/German/Irish heritage.
Her new role will see her teaching and researching between the Department of History of Art and Architecture, and the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies, while also engaging with colleagues in the Harvard University Native American Program.
Brenda recently completed her PhD and is now Professor Croft at the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences. The Dean of the College, Professor Rae Frances stated, "We are especially proud to be represented by such a talented Indigenous scholar whose work will do much to communicate the rich culture and history of Australian First Nations people to a US audience." The Daramalan Alumni totally agrees!
DID YOU CATCH THIS STORY?
You may have seen the article earlier this week concerning an Atlanta Braves' baseball player, who, in game one of the US World Series, amazingly threw 16 pitches against the Houston Astros with a broken leg. Now ignoring the dodgy femur for a moment, the Dara connection is that the Astro’s catcher is coached by our own Michael Collins, Class of 2002.
Michael has been involved with US Major League Baseball since leaving Canberra after a long stint with the Canberra Cavalry as both player and manager, including coaching Australia’s national team in 2013.
With the Astro’s currently in the finals, we look forward to Michael’s team taking out the 2021 World Series – with all legs intact hopefully.
OUR SOPHIE HAS ‘TRUMPED’ THIS PRESIDENT GIG
It takes a certain person to make a great leader and clearly a Dara education is the perfect training ground for success. Ex-student Sophie Nguyen (2018) is currently completing her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, and has just been elected as the 2022 President of the university’s Student Union, acting as the face and spokesperson for the 50,000 strong student campus. She will be representing the students on all matters relating to services, activism and events, as well as working with other student unions on national campaigns. It must have been all that experience she gained as Lyons House Captain back in Year 12.
CAM’S JUST REACHED HIS GOAL
Ex-student Cameron Bernasconi (2010) was always destined to be a success in the AFL, and his dream came true last week when he was appointed Head AFLW coach at the GWS Giants for the next three years.
Cam’s career trajectory started straight after school, with a short stint at GWS as a player, before being chosen as an AFL coaching clinic trainee in 2013.
He was then appointed as ACT's Talent and Coaching Manager, before moving into a similar role with the Giants Academy, later taking on the Academy's head coaching gig in 2020 before his latest appointment.
He also becomes the second local AFLW coach with Canberra girl Bec Goddard heading up the Hawthorn team which should make for an interesting match-up when the next season starts in August. Cameron, and his brother Matt, are part of a long-term Dara family with both his dad and uncle also attending the College in the 70s.
