Where are they now?
Fiona Hando (1987)
These days, we’re often encouraged to reflect on our privilege.
When I reflect on what the privilege of attending Sacré Cœur for 12 years afforded me, I recognise several attributes that have contributed to a full and rewarding life journey post school. Those attributes include confidence, a strong commitment to social justice, empathy and resilience. But greatest among these is resilience.
On leaving school in 1987, I entered journalism as a cadet for The Sun – it exposed me to such cultural experiences as attending Kylie Minogue’s 21st (well, to be honest, I stood on the street outside the Red Eagle Hotel for nine hours with a photographer who missed the “money shot” because he’d gone to the loo).
In my 20’s I moved into communications, serving in senior roles in Government and the private sector. When I was 31 my sister Claire (Class of 1992), who had struggled with mental health issues for 15 years, took her own life. She was 27. I spoke at her funeral.
During my 30s I went through a phase of insisting on wearing leggings as pants – I am still teased about that by the people who knew me then.
For the past six years I have cooked a meal for a group of young people in their 20’s every Sunday night. At times I have provided them with a room while they are between houses or between jobs. We look out for each other. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 they cared for me through treatment. I consider them family.
On Saturday 23 November 2019 I spoke at the Small Pleasures lunch, an extraordinary initiative, providing vouchers and acknowledgements to Sacré Cœur alumnae experiencing life’s challenges. As a grateful recipient, I shared the lessons I’ve learnt through my cancer experience (see attached powerpoint).
What struck me most about that lunch was being surrounded by strong, compassionate and successful women who shared similar attributes to me, attributes that can be traced to years spent at a school that supported us to follow our dreams and care for the world around us.
Madeleine Hale (2010)
One of my favourite aspects of my experience as a student at Sacré Cœur was getting involved in all of the wonderful extra-curricular activities available. I loved developing different skills and making friends across different year levels by participating in choirs, orchestras, sports, theatre and social justice activities. Ultimately, these activities would provide me with the skills to help me flourish at university, at work and in my musical ambitions.
Since leaving Sacré Cœur, I studied an Arts/Law degree at Monash University where I continued my studies in Classics, Music and French, which had been highlights of my time at school. Missing the creative outlets that I had at school, however, I started writing music in my spare time at university. I didn’t know it at the time, but a lot of my writing had been heavily influenced by musical theatre I performed in at school, as well as the large-scale French musicals we had studied in VCE French.
Amidst my writing, one particular song that really stuck was one I had based on the love story of Dido and Aeneas in The Aeneid, an ancient Roman epic we had studied in VCE Latin with Ms Albrecht. I continued writing songs based on this story and after a few years had developed enough songs for a musical. I then wrote the script before I started full time work as a lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills. I have since produced a staged reading of this musical, called A E N E A S, to a sold-out audience at the Melbourne Recital Centre with some of Australia’s most talented young musical theatre performers. Songs from the musical have also been performed at Chapel Off Chapel as part of Home Grown's concert series, as well as at the Hayes Theatre in Sydney. I am currently preparing for a second workshop of the musical in December this year to further develop the work.
For more information, please visit my website: