Josh Vaughan Class of 1993
My St Edmund’s College journey began in 1985 as a fresh-faced year 4 student. My two older brothers both went to SEC which in some ways paved the path for me. Fortunately, I also had a few good mates from St. Jude’s who had also chosen SEC as their school. The forming of close, and as it turns out, lifetime friends and connections all happened very quickly. I look back and understand that SEC boys were similar in more ways than not and believe this is a characteristic unique to the College. Highlights for me were school camps at Tuross and later retreats in high school and college, Founders Day, Olympic sized trampolines in the quad, representing SEC in Rugby and Dragon Boat, table tennis in the very early years, my mates, some very influential teachers and of course, sausage rolls in a bun. In my final year, 1993, the senior rugby squad toured New Zealand and that truly stands out in my memory. We toured both the north and south islands, played a mix of strong and not so strong teams, and lived large during our free time. It was also during this trip that I made a commitment with a great mate Andrew Howell (Howie) to work together ‘when we grew up!’. After finishing year 12, Howie chose a career in the Army. We kept in regular contact, just not in close proximity, as Howie lived interstate and spent blocks of time away on active service overseas. My first teaching placement whilst at University
studying teaching was at SEC under the immediate supervision of College legend and then Head of Primary, Patricia Doyle. Just after graduating, the stars aligned when I landed a job after visiting SEC just prior to school holidays in 1999. I spent the next five years teaching at SEC with a short break in 2016 when I moved to St. Francis of Assisi primary school in Calwell. I returned to SEC in 2017 into the leadership team under the amazing and influential Headmaster Chris Hayes. As a leader, Chris was the complete package. His genuine care and interest shown in all students and staff was ever present and I learned a lot from simply watching and being around the great man. My last year teaching at SEC was 2010. Fast forward to 2012, Howie and I organised ourselves to be in the same place at the time. Over a drink, we were sharing our experiences and our desire to help support adolescent boys. Howie has spent time leading small teams, most of which included men in their late teens and early 20’s. I had spent the best part of ten years in boys education and had moved into the Early Childhood Education and Care sector, where I was employing young men. We shared an understanding of common problems young men experience; we recognised a lack general respect for others and themselves, risky behaviours and the inadvertent attraction towards inappropriate peer
Vibrant Spirit. Strong Character. Tailored Learning
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