Robb College SCR President's opening address for 2021

Sam Ditchfield

Good evening everyone and thank you for inviting the Senior Common Room to this introductory dinner.

For those that don’t know me, I am Sam Ditchfield and I have been involved with Robb College for the past 8 years along with my wife Jules. We have been involved with the Rugby club and Women’s sport, coaching successful Rugby and Netball teams. We have helped a number of students find casual work whilst at college and also in their chosen professions after graduating. We have written character references for students in their pursuit of work.

But we are not unique. There are 40 members on the Senior Common Room, (unfortunately COVID has restricted numbers allowed to attend tonight).

All the SCR members have something to offer you. We represent a wide range of professions and have extensive contact networks across Australia and internationally in a multitude of industries, along with our UNE academic members who provide a valuable learning resource for you the students.

I think we can all agree that it is a long-awaited pleasure to be enjoying a college dinner on campus in your own dining hall, surrounded by the history of Robb college as represented on the honour boards.

The smooth transition into this new college is a tribute to you all, especially the work that Jamie, his wife Belinda and the leadership team completed in the 10 days prior to the freshers arriving along with fulfilling their leadership training requirements. It endorses the fact that no matter where you reside, the Robb spirit endures.

At a recent SCR gathering, a member who is a past Robb Student commented that her university memories are predominately of Robb College, friendships and the life-long contacts made, the good times and the not so good times, playing hard on and off the field and studying up-top whilst helping each other get through their degrees. She proudly identifies more strongly with having been a Robb student than a UNE student.

We commend you for choosing to return to college when so much of the learning is currently held online. I think this is a testament to the experience and support that colleges like Robb offer to students. In many ways you are pioneers caught in the middle of change and your college experience is going to be great because you will make it great. It is going to be different to what previous Robb students have experienced and that is ok.

The onus is now on you to make the most of your time at Robb and have your own experiences with mates while endeavouring to get the right balance between study and leisure.

You have a much more flexible way of learning , requiring you to be disciplined and organised but this also opens up opportunities for you  get work experience in your chosen field, work in industry to help find the direction you want to go if you’re unsure yet and this may cement your desire to do what you want to do or help you realise that maybe you need to change the direction in your study.

Use your time to gain some more skills that will help make you more employable when you finish. (You are much more employable if you turn up for an interview as an agronomist and you have your forklift ticket, you have your chemical handling certificate, your first aid is current, etc.

When you are out and about working even if not in your desired field you are making contacts along with good results which will help to get you the good jobs.  I am amazed how often during the year (I know many other SCR members have had this happen as well) we are asked do you have any standout students at Robb that are finishing this year or are looking to work while studying? Though my profession is Ag, these queries are not always ag related. It could be a mate in Armidale who is an accountant, or a friend in Brisbane who in corporate Ag or a regional rural bank manager whose bank aims to employ 20 graduates a year. Several years ago a friend was invited to an evening Robb put on as a mixer night for Ag students and potential employers. Pre-Jamie days and pre-Sam days - Matt Meehan and I were there representing our respective industries and this mate was looking to employ 6 graduates.

Students turned up and mingled amongst themselves and very few tried to engage with the 15 Ag industry representatives that were there. Many turned up in Ugg boots and footy shorts, dressed for a night-in watching Netflix not impressing a potential employer. I assume the students were not worded up that there would be potential employers present.  Two lessons come from this.

We learn from our mistakes. If there was interest in starting up the mixer nights again where industry people come in and talk to you about career pathways, job opportunities, skills required and work experience, please contact Jamie or an SCR member as we would be available to help you run these.

Remember, the next adult you talk to could be the contact to your dream job.