Alumnae News 

Genevieve Collins (Howard 1978)

Thank you to one of our alumnae who updated us about Genevieve Collins' journey since she left Sacré Cœur.

She has had a stellar legal career and is now Chief Executive Partner at Lander & Rogers and is also Chair of their board. Lander & Rogers was recognised in 2020 as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality. Genevieve is a passionate advocate for gender equity and diversity and you can see her talk about this below:

Genevieve was named Law Firm Leader of the Year in June this year:

She also recently featured on a Lives in the Law podcast, where she refers to the role of the nuns and the school in her journey.

Genevieve's Memories of school

My first experience of Catholic education was when I came to Sacré Cœur  in Grade 5 from a non-denominational school in Sydney. My parents separated, and I moved to Melbourne with my mother, brother and sister. My father had been raised Catholic but vehemently opposed religion, and I sometimes wondered about his school experience with the Christian Brothers, Lewisham. My first day at Sac was challenging. The uniform shop had sold out of school dresses. For the whole of Term 1, I felt awkward in my yellow day dress, white socks and brown school shoes. 

I had nevertheless struck gold with my year - my first Sac friend, Cate Collopy and a talented, dynamic group of women who would go on to leadership and prominent roles in our community today - Paula Dwyer, Nicole Feely, Marg Downey, Jane Turner to name a few. 

There were many strong women at Sac. I remember the quiet determination of 

Sr Margaret Lentaigne, our music and religion teacher, her strong belief in social justice andher unwavering belief in us. This was despite the antics 10 year old girls found so hilarious, such as hiding cushions inside her piano to prevent it emitting sound. Sr Lentaigne embodied the social justice ethos of Sac. When our paths crossed later, Margaret was still running youth camps and assisting asylum seekers.

 At the end of Year 8, after four years at Sac, my mother was unable to manage the fees and I was moved to Kildara College. I will always feel lucky to have experienced life at Sac - the focus on a good education, exposure to strong, dedicated women and the social justice ethos which continues today.

Alicia Eva (2009)

Congratulations to GWS AFLW Captain Alicia Eva. Alicia has long been involved in coaching, stemming back to her pre-AFLW days, and in May this year became the first female coach to join the NAB AFL Academy panel.

For Eva, one of the joys of coaching is that it involves constant learning.

Each time Eva gets an opportunity she learns a little bit more about the type of coach she wants to be.

“What I have observed in my coaching experiences is that coaching is most effective when it is authentic and done in a style that feels genuine,” said Eva.

“If I try and emulate Leon Cameron it won’t be effective, because I’m not Leon Cameron.

“I want to be Alicia Eva.”

The Roar, Mary Konstantopoulos,July 19 2021

Click below and search Alicia Eva to catch up with all her news from the GWS Giants.