From Margaret River to College Leader: Emily Simpson

I'm from Margaret River and I study Health Sciences at Curtin. I chose to live at St Catherine’s College because of how close it was to university. You can just wake up and go straight to your classes, not worrying about transport or anything.  I also wanted the college experience, and to really be involved in different opportunities that I couldn't do living at home.

Being from the South West, I wasn't really sure what to do when it came to renting in Perth, so College made it very easy to move out of home and find your way. I chose St Catherine's because events looked really fun and relevant to what I like to do. I also liked all the different room options. Everything about it really drew me in, and St Catherine's definitely stood out compared to the other colleges. 

I think the programs at St Catherine's offer something for everyone. After being a student leader in high school, I saw lots of opportunities to take on leadership roles at St Catherine’s which was really appealing to me. At College, we have a team of RAs (residential advisors) which are basically residents that step up to a leadership position. We are given about 20 students in our wing, and we just make sure to check up on them, make sure they're doing okay and offer any support or resources that can to help them if they need. You really get to know your wing RA and we get to know our residents. We also host little catch ups, give out wellness packages, and just make sure that you're enjoying college. I found my RA in first year was really lovely in getting to know me and seeing what I wanted to do. We did little events in our wing and it just creates like friends from all over that maybe you wouldn't normally hang out with. We just become a close little wing of mates.  

I've found the dining hall at college was the best place to make new friends. There is always someone in there to talk to, we have lots of different food. I personally love going after a day at uni, where I can just relax and enjoy a meal that's already made for me, and just enjoy the social aspect of eating with my friends after a long day.

We also have a lot of events in the dining hall, like formal hall. Formal hall is a formal dinner where we all get together, get a little dressed up in our academic gowns and hear from guest speakers on a range of different topics. We get a fancy three course meal and it really provides the college experience of everyone having a meal together and enjoying themselves.  

College also hosts different faculty dinners throughout the year for different areas of study, such as engineering, medicine, teaching, science and heaps more that residents can attend. You get to network with other St Catherine's alumni and industry professionals that can offer you helpful advice and connections as you get started in your career.

I definitely recommend the college experience for any student not knowing what they want to do next year. It's such a great environment to meet so many people, and I'm really enjoying my time here.