Worldwide Chapters

Loreto Toorak Alumnae International

Despite a global pandemic our Loreto Toorak Alumnae International Chapter Heads have maintained a wonderful presence for our Loreto Toorak Community internationally and have been a much needed connection for our alumnae living and working overseas.

A difficult time for many, and with travel embargoed worldwide we thought it would be interesting to have some of our Chapter Heads share their stories from the year thus far with snapshots of their lives from their respective cities, including London, New York and Singapore.

It is our hope Reunions can be held in 2021 with our Community gathered as one again on a global scale. If you have recently moved or wish us to connect you with one of our Chapters now established in London, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, Adelaide, or Brisbane, please contact us at:

Danielle Lord (Field, 1985), Engagement Officer – Alumnae danielle.lord@loretotoorak.vic.edu.au

Past Pupils’ Association Mass

Our annual Past Pupils’ Association Mass was held online on Sunday 15 November. Whilst it was disappointing not to be able to welcome our community to our magnificent Chapel of Christ the King, we were pleased to be able to share this special Mass with our virtual community. For those who were unable to join us on the day, please click the link below to watch a recording of the Mass.

A Day in the Life

Lisa Donohoe (2003), New York

This year the city that never sleeps was forced to take a long nap. Whilst no person and no place has been unaffected by COVID-19, in New York the effect seems especially pronounced. Normally its arteries pump with its lively inhabitants, each of them chasing something.

The air is thick with life and possibility (and a bit of cab exhaust) as people race around seeking something bigger than what they have. Many succeed and many more don’t, but there’s a sense that if you can hack the pace, you’re a chance to reach your goal, whatever it may be. Some find the naked ambition crass and common perception tells you the constant striving renders its inhabitants rude and sneering. The streets are animated by people of all stripes, many of them, like myself, from elsewhere, who want to be in a place that seems, wrongly or rightly, like the centre of the universe.

Without those people, the city was something of a stage without its actors. Even the most picturesque scenes were fundamentally lacking.

But then again, given the effect of the pandemic on New York, griping about the lack of atmosphere in the city is the absolute best case scenario.

At its peak in April 2020, New York recorded over 12,000 new cases per day and over 1,000 deaths.

The less well-off were and are disproportionately represented in those figures. In a country without universal healthcare, many people perished who might have survived with better and quicker access to treatment.

With the shutdown of the economy came unprecedented levels of unemployment. Keep in mind, that most people’s health insurance is tied to their employment.

In that sense, the pandemic has laid gruesomely bare the inequality which has always been a feature of life in a city which offers vast winnings for success, but few consolation prizes for anything less.

I have the good fortune of being on the favourable side of that divide, in that I am healthy with secure housing and employment as a business development advisor with the law firm Allen & Overy.

So when I contracted the Coronavirus in March of this year, my recovery was relatively uncomplicated, having access to treatment and a comfortable home in which to quarantine, rest and work.

Since then the city has slowly come back to life, though in a very different form.

Previously, trips to work would involve stop offs at the gym and a bodega for a breakfast on the run, followed by a subway trip or a walk to work at Rockefeller Centre. Work would involve lots of meetings and calls – Europe before lunch and APAC towards the end of the day. Inherent in those duties was the navigation of many rather large personalities, as one can imagine in a New York law firm. For those who have watched Suits, I will say that the obnoxious litigator Louis Litt is lightly fictionalised at best. Weeknights are often busier than weekend evenings, so usually after work there would be drinks or dinner at one of the endless number of vibrant restaurants and bars.

Today, like many people, the commute involves a trip from bed to my home office. The meetings take place via Zoom and I’m even finding myself missing some of the various Louis Litt-types I once complained of. Whilst we can visit restaurants, the bulk of seating is outside, which is becoming increasingly tricky as we push into winter.

It seems as though there will be a long winter ahead, but hopefully, in the spirit of American optimism, better times in 2021.

So while New York is perhaps a bit bleary-eyed now, that’s kind of beside the point. New York is about the promise of tomorrow. I can’t wait to see what it brings.