Heather Phillips

Heather Phillips

I fondly remember my time here at Merici. While here I was involved in lots of dance and drama activities. I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Rock Eisstedfods and Drama productions. Towards the end of my time at Merici  I made a massive move into the world of art and after finishing school went on to the Campus of Art and undertook the study of ceramics at the ANU. Today, while visiting Merici, it has been wonderful to go on a school tour and see how the school has changed and I am very delighted to see that there is such a great display of student ceramic and pottery work around, showing lots of talent and skill.

One of my favourite activities at school was being involved in the Duke of Edinburgh (DoE) program where I undertook my Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. Involved in the  DoE gave me a lot of confidence and leadership skills which I have used in life .  All the activities I was involved in at school gave me an adventurous sense of spirit, self-identity and my ability to trust in myself in difficult situations and challenges.  The DoE hikes, where we would get totally lost, with no parents or teachers there to help you out, taught us that we had to use our skills and group together in a team. This helped me to develop my team building skills and problem solving skills, but also I learnt to trust in myself and believe that I had the skills to get me out of tough situations.  This has helped me a lot in life after leaving Merici.

I learnt to trust in myself and believe that I had the skills to get me out of tough situations

When I graduated from art school and completed my honours degree, I went on to Glasgow in Scotland where I did an exchange at the Glasgow School of Art for six months and then I ended up moving to Glasgow permanently, undertaking various jobs but mainly working as an Art Technician. From that position I realised that I quite enjoyed teaching and working with young people. I realised that I had good skills and a good ability to communicate with young people so I went on to undertake my teacher’s training in Glasgow and now I am a full-time high school art teacher.  I visit my family in Canberra once a year, and love hearing about Merici through my nieces Imogen and Niamh Blake who currently attend Merici College.

I would like to thank Merici College, past and present teachers for instilling the same values and principles into my nieces as were instilled in me many years ago.

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