To kick off Term 3 we spent some time with McAuley House Leader, Rachel Wallbank and she shared with us a valuable insight in to who she is, so we hope you enjoy this Q&A.

Interestingly, Rachel was also a past student of Damascus College, Class of 1998, so she has a long and proud history with our wonderful community. Pictured below is a baby photo, a high school photo and a current photo of Rachel – such beautiful blue eyes.

• What is your favourite food?
Homemade Lasagne and Hazelnut chocolate (not together)

• Do you have a hobby/play a sport?
I love to read and have been doing plenty of it in isolation. I also enjoy running and taking my dog for a walk. I do a little bit of running coaching too, however I’m still finding my confidence with that as it’s fairly new.

• What is your favourite holiday destination?
Anywhere with a beach, it’s my happy place. We love getting away to Apollo Bay and Anglesea. We were looking forward to going to Tanzania next year but that has been put on hold for now.

• If you had one day left on earth, how would you spend it?
At the beach with my family, including the dog.

• Where were you born? Size of family, where do you come in the order?
I was born in Ballarat, the eldest of four children. Both my sisters live in Ballarat and my brother lives near Geelong.

• What value/s do you live by?
As much as I can, to treat others as I’d like to be treated. If we all did a lot more of that, the world would be a happier place.

• What do you enjoy about working at Damascus College?
We have great staff and great students. Everyone is always looking after each other. I’m continually blown away by the compassion our students show for others. It’s the Mercy values, I think.

• What stand out thing, do you think a student gains from a Damascus education?
A Mercy education! They understand that they’re part of a bigger picture: there’s more to life than their immediate surroundings. The opportunities for students here are so vast that there’s something for everyone. When I interview incoming Year 7 students, the pastoral care that the College offers is something that is mentioned almost every time. It’s something that we can all be proud of, that students are known, cared for and they belong.

• Why do you love the job you do? Why do you love teaching? I love being a House Leader. Some days it can be really tough and require a lot of emotional energy but being on a team with 290 amazing students and some equally amazing staff is a good trade off. Almost all of the students we interviewed for House Captain for 2020 talked about how they feel like McAuley is a big family and that made us incredibly proud and is testament to the culture created by staff and students in the mighty yellow house.

The best part of teaching is being able to see young people grow into themselves and take their place in the world. Being able to meet a young person at their point of need and go on to see them flourish is so rewarding.