ALUMNI

INTRODUCING THE SANDRINGHAM COLLEGE ALUMNI

One of the very exciting initiatives to be introduced this year is the Sandringham College Alumni. The College and its founding schools has a rich history of dynamic students and interesting events.

HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE                                                                                                  

In 1987 the State Government of Victoria decided to merge four schools - Beaumaris High, Hampton High, Highett High and Sandringham Technical Schools. It was at a time of major change in education with the introduction of the VCE as the main certificate for the Later Years of schooling. The Sandringham Technical School site became the Senior Campus, Hampton High was closed with Beaumaris High and Highett High becoming the Years 7-10 Junior Campuses - Sandringham College was formed. The first intake of College students occurred in 1989 at both Beaumaris and Highett Campus.

Beaumaris Campus ceased being part of the College at the end of 2016. In 2020 the Junior Campuses became 7-9 with the Holloway Rd Campus Years 10-12.

Hampton High opened in 1938, Sandringham Technical School in 1955 and Highett High in 1956. During this time thousands of students have passed through the corridors of these establishments all with stories to tell of their time at school and their subsequent life in the real world. We are hoping to contact as many of our former students as possible to form the Sandringham College alumni, including the Old Hamptonians.

The aim of the alumni is to: 

• highlight the varied areas of employment our students pursue
• connect former students with the College
• to assist with facilitating reunions 
• to offer tours of the College to see the changes that have occurred
• and to develop the relationship between our past students with the current community. 

We anticipate that many members of are alumni will be keen to:

• inspire our current students to aim high in their career aspirations
• be part of our Mentoring Program assisting our students  as mentors to students 
• be a Guest Speaker at College events 
• offer Work Experience placement to our students.

Of course others will just like to be connected to the Sandringham College community.

Perhaps you are a former student yourself so please consider becoming part of our alumni by emailing me on heatherfehring@education.vic.gov.au  If you know of a former student, please pass this information on to them. 

I look forward to seeing our Alumni grow and am excited about sharing stories from the past and present with the Sandringham College community.

Heather Fehring

Alumni Coordinator                                                                                                                                                                       

*Note as Beaumaris High School has reopened, we anticipate the former Beaumaris High students will join the Alumni there. Those students who went to Beaumaris Campus and then the Senior Campus are encouraged to join the Sandringham College alumni.

ALUMNI PROFILES

Throughout the year we will feature stories of the journeys of some of our College alumni and so it seems very fitting to start with one of those students who led the way in the first Year 7 cohort of Sandringham College.

VICKI ADAMS Enrolled at Sandringham College 1989-94

Vicki Adams never dreamt that she would carve out a career in Microbiology - in fact as a child she had hoped to become a geologist! Most of her working life has been spent at Monash University where she also gained her tertiary qualifications. Vicki is now a Post Doctoral Researcher in Microbiology and has a PHD in Microbiology. In recent times she has taught second and third year Biology students and is currently teaching the medical students in Microbiology at Monash. The score of 50 (full marks) that she achieved for Year 12 Biology was obviously a clear indicator of her abilities and passion for this area of study and promised much for her future.

As a researcher Vicki has worked in collaboration with scientists in America focusing on how bacteria cause damage and disease - students who are budding scientists might be interested to know that her focus has been on Clostridium perfringens - the toxin that causes gangrene.

Part of her work has always involved applying for research grants from the Australian Government which adds a burden to the workload of a researcher. With that in mind her more recent studies, achieving her Masters in Laboratory Medicine, allows Vicki to pursue her fascination with how much a smear of blood can tell us about a person’s overall health. 

Vicki enjoyed her time at the College and made some lifelong friends. She particularly comments on the support and direction from her teachers that prepared her so well for the ‘transition into University and even life’. She loved her Biology and Chemistry teachers as they ‘tapped into her fascination of how things worked.’ She also ‘loved being part of the concert band’ and playing flute in the College Productions. A keen netballer at school, she has made the time to coach teams which also included her three daughters.

Vicki Adams is now a highly successful scientist whose contributions continue to impress. We hope that Vicki will inspire our current students with her journey when she visits the College later this year.