Sisterhood of St Vincent’s Hospital Foundation

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24 March 2022

Genazzano FCJ College, Kew, welcomed back alumnae Sarah Kennedy and Rebecca Martin to celebrate an exciting collaboration between the Genazzano Institute and the Sisterhood of St Vincent’s – promoting women working in health, science, engineering and medicine.

The event, hosted by Rebecca MacFarling, Deputy Director of the St Vincent’s Foundation, was organised as a highlight of the Year 9 immersion program, exposing the students to career pathways in health, science, engineering, medicine and philanthropy. The event stimulated important discussion about empowering women and removing the gender bias. The afternoon session was buzzing with enthusiasm as students worked in teams on real-world projects to develop skills in planning, teamwork, promotion and fundraising.

Students heard from a number of guest speakers including Associate Professor Claudia Di Bella, Chloe Forster, Sarah Kennedy, Rebecca Martin and Rebecca MacFarling. Year 11 student, Ariyana Farik, skilfully hosted a Question and Answer session to delve deeper into ideas about the importance of philanthropy, the role of women and how students can be involved.

Associate Professor Di Bella shared some of her journey as an orthopaedic surgeon and the gender gap in medical professionals, and encouraged students to pursue their passions regardless of whether there are female role models in the field.

Ms Forster spoke about the importance of volunteering to gain experience and to give, as well as the joy she receives from her role in events, and supporting health and the community.

Genazzano alumna Sarah Kennedy (1989) is the founder of the Sisterhood of St Vincent’s. She spoke about the values she learned at school, the power of women to make a difference and why she was inspired to support the hospital.

Alumna Rebecca Martin (1998) spoke about her time at Genazzano and subsequent career path through to her work as Events Manager of the St Vincent’s Foundation. She presented the exciting work of ACMD (currently in development) and the need for fundraising.

The partnership aligns strongly with the college’s Strategic Plan which promotes active learning and teaching, and puts learners at the centre of their studies. At Genazzano, the belief is that all students can make a difference in the world they live in, and social responsibility and finding opportunities to build on strengths and talents are encouraged.

Principal Loretta Wholley commented on the partnership and importance of learning for this third millennium. ‘Learning in 2022 is very different from what it was 10 years ago, even two years ago. We need to continue to provide exciting options for students to expand their knowledge outside the traditional classroom model’, she said. ‘Providing these sorts of opportunities for girls now enables them to make informed choices about the electives they study in their senior years at school and the career paths available to them. And who better to share these opportunities than previous Gen girls.’

To read the full story, visit the Genazzano FCJ College website.