Tuckwell Alumni Brunch Speech

I’d like to give my thanks to the Ngunnawal people for keeping the Country where we’re meeting today healthy. It’s important while we stand here under this burin (stringy bark) tree and as we planted ten djua (candle bark) trees on Friday to commemorate the scholarship, to consider the nature of legacy in a place with tens of thousands of years of history and to consider connection in a place whose traditional name - Kambri - means meeting place. You could find no city more suited for reunion, even if it is one built on stolen land.

The Tuckwell Scholarship, which first brought you to Canberra from all over the country, has again brought you back, now from all over the world. As someone still living in Canberra I can say that the bush capital is just as beautiful as when you were last here. Unfortunately, the nightlife has not improved (the Sydney folk can keep their smug snickering and country’s highest rental prices to themselves). To bring folks from such far and wide demonstrates the Scholarship’s gravity - we’re pushing 260 scholars strong, over half of whom are now alumni, like you. For those who have just joined – yumalundi ­– welcome to Tuckwell Alumni Network.

It's a bit difficult for someone with only 25 years of life under their belt to do a decade in review. I was, however, gifted this, “Best political cartoons of 2014” for my 16th birthday, so if you’re keen to relive Australian politics, economy and society back when the scholarship was founded, feel free to have a flick through this book before you leave today’s gathering. My takeaway from leafing through this book ten years after it was written is that the kinds of societal challenges that feature in this book are exactly the reason that the Scholarship, and indeed, ANU were established. Some of the challenges may have changed name or face (no one in parliament has eaten an onion or held up a piece of coal and called it “good” for a while) but the challenges are fundamentally similar – the only difference is that ten years on there are now 135 Tuckwell Alumni who are out in the world solving them.

We’re working as doctors to support First Nations peoples to manage health in culturally relevant ways, we’re calculating ice loss on the WAIS, we’re working up on the hill that inspired the comics in this book. We’re running award winning community gardens and raising the next generation of societal problem solvers (Brandon is looking remarkably well rested for someone with a nearly 12-month old at home).

It's clear that the (potentially over) commitment to community that was exhibited as scholars has continued into our professional and personal lives. If you’re finding yourself short on contributions, or are simply eager to participate, we’d welcome you to join the Tuckwell Alumni Committee. As you will have heard across this weekend, there is plenty of exciting work for the Committee to do, from setting up events like these, across Australia and beyond, to laying the pathway for alumni to join the selection committee. It’s a pivotal time to be a part of the Committee, so if you’re interested, please have a chat with Matt, Matt, J or I at some point this morning.