Caitlin Glascott

Caitlin Glascott – the 2022 College Club President, medical student, and third-year resident student at St Mark’s – has already made important contributions to the College she so dearly loves. An undeniably warm and effervescent individual who is also driven and determined, Caitlin is a widely respected role model who has done much to promote the St Mark’s culture of inclusivity among current students.

Raised in Melbourne and Gawler before moving to Taiwan at age 9, Caitlin found the experience of living in a very different culture was a truly formative one. Thriving in a diverse environment, she was characteristically outgoing and embraced the local culture. Indeed, her commitment to the benefits of inclusivity are, in part, borne out of this experience.

Returning to Ballarat in 2014, Caitlin commenced her secondary studies with great enthusiasm. A committed student, she excelled in her studies. She was the recipient of the Wu Bingshu Chinese Scholarship for excellence in learning Mandarin, received a Certificate II in Applied Language outside of her formal high school studies, and graduated from Year 12 with an Academic Merit for high achieving students.

Beyond her studies, Caitlin had already begun to demonstrate a natural affinity for leadership and service. When she wasn’t busy serving as Mentor Captain, responsible for making new Year 7 students feel at home, she was going door-to-door fundraising for the Red Shield Appeal, tutoring disadvantaged primary school children with Exodus House, assisting autistic children with the Ballarat Autism Network, and visiting elderly patients at the local nursing home. An earnest interest in the wellbeing of others, so core to her character, truly became clear during this time.

Caitlin came to St Mark’s College in 2020 to study for a Bachelor of Health and Medical Science (Advanced). Her sister, Eliza Glascott, had been in the College for the previous three years, including as a Residential Advisor in 2019.

In a testament to Caitlin’s diligence and determination, in her first year of tertiary study she achieved a perfect 7.0 GPA – no mean feat – and successfully met all other eligibility criteria to successfully transfer to a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery. Her outstanding achievements also saw the College award her the Sir Ronald Fisher Scholarship, awarded to the most outstanding students in the field of science, and the Sodexo Scholarship, for students of outstanding academic merit.

While excelling in her studies, Caitlin also became actively involved in all aspects of College life. A stalwart supporter at High Table Cup sports, enthusiastic attendee at social events and close friend to many, she made a positive impact on all those around her. It is unsurprising then that at the end of her first year, Caitlin was elected to the College Club Committee as Social Officer for 2021.

Last year saw Caitlin both serve with distinction on the Committee as Social Officer and continue her outstanding academic performance (alongside continuing her part-time work as a barista, in which she has several years’ experience). Despite the vagaries of the COVID-19 pandemic and necessary restrictions, St Mark’s social life remained vibrant in spite of it all – in part due to Caitlin’s strong belief that everyone should have that same first magical year she did. Given her committed service and strong academic performance, at the end of 2021 Caitlin received two of the College’s highest honours, the R.B. & P.E. Lewis Scholarship and the Gavin Walkley Scholarship.

Buoyed by her enjoyable experience on Committee and her desire to help her fellow students make the most of their time at St Mark’s, Caitlin stood for the College Club Presidency for 2022. Articulating a truly inclusive message with a vision of a College where everyone could feel at “home” as she does, Caitlin was elected President. Reflecting on what it means to her, Caitlin says that “my proudest accomplishment is having been given the opportunity to be the President... Being elected by my peers to have such an influence on the College is a great honour”.

In the following months, Caitlin has proven herself to be an adept leader, committed to serving the College community. She has worked with other student leaders and College staff to ensure a lively social, sporting, and cultural calendar, despite the necessities of the pandemic, and to promote the wellbeing of all students in an inclusive, safe, and respectful environment. Serving as College Club President during the 40th anniversary of coeducation at St Mark’s is something Caitlin has especially valued, reflected in her highly praised vote of thanks at the College’s 40th Anniversary dinner in April.

Under her leadership, the College Club is on track to host the 30th Marksenfest festival of arts and music on Saturday 8 October. Her in-depth knowledge of the Committee’s inner workings and her ability to motivate her team have been integral to the success of this year’s Committee.

In her speech of welcome to the new St Mark’s students at the beginning of the year, Caitlin urged them to “become the best version of yourself” – a theme taken up by the Head of College (with whom Caitlin works closely) in his address at the College’s Commencement Service.

Members of the 2022 Committee say of Caitlin that “she is an inspiring and supportive leader. Every day she lives her commitment to help everyone 'become the best version of themselves'. She takes the responsibility of serving the College community seriously and we know that this Committee's achievements are in many ways thanks to her – we have loved serving alongside her this year”.

Caitlin Glascott has been described as a “bubbly person who is determined to always serve those she cares about”. Her contribution to St Mark’s has helped advance a culture of true inclusivity as she has served the College community with passion. Deeply committed to her medical studies, which will enable her to serve others through her medical career, Caitlin says that she is “looking forward to placement and eventually applying my skills and entering the workforce”.

Caitlin knows that she will reflect back warmly on her College days, and that she will maintain close ties with the College and the many friends she has made here long into the future.

A brief Q & A with Caitlin Glascott:

What are your most significant memories of your time at St Mark’s?

I have so many great memories at St Mark’s and I’m excited to make more in my last 6 months here. One of my fondest memories would definitely be my first Welcome Week at College. It was an absolutely jam-packed week but it was so exciting and a really great insight into life at St Mark’s. Everyone was so welcoming and it really felt like I had found my new home. All the activities that we did helped us to bond as a group and I still enjoy laughing with my friends about what we got up to! It was also fun being exposed to the traditions of St Mark’s. A truly memorable one would be the fresher tie. It was an experience so unique to the College experience, it makes you feel like you are a part of something much bigger than just yourself. If I could go back and relive that week I definitely would!

This was really hard to come up with, though, because there’s honestly not really a stand out memory as I just feel like the experience as a whole has been unforgettable. For me it’s the little moments at St Mark’s that I’m going to look back and cherish: Bakery “Bako” trips in the middle of SWOTVAC, random dining hall conversations, doing last minute assignments in the library and staying up in someone’s room talking into the early hours of the morning.

How has your time at St Mark’s influenced your life?

I already feel like I’ve really grown and learnt so much as a person about friendships and leadership in particular. You learn how to talk to people from all walks of life. Being at College makes you an open-minded person because you are living with people that have all been raised differently and we all have different views but we all come together and live harmoniously under one roof. This is a type of experience you can’t get in a share house or living at home and I’m so grateful to have gotten it. It’s made me more confident, more likely to take risks – for example I would not have thought as a fresher that I would run for President but somehow here I am and I think I owe that to the supportive culture at St Mark’s that invites us to take risks and have confidence in ourselves.

What personal qualities do you view as being most instrumental to your success?

Being ambitious – you’ve got to be in it to win it, and you can’t have success if you don’t set big goals for yourself and believe that you can do it!

Being resilient – even if something gets you down that’s okay but you’ve got to be able to bounce back to get the job done!

Choose three words to encapsulate your time at St Mark’s.

• Fun
• Fulfilling
• Exceptional

If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice on that first day at St Mark’s, what would it be?

To stop worrying about the future and just focus on the now. Make the most of every experience, especially being a fresher, because it goes quick and is the most amazing year! To appreciate everything as it comes – I feel like when you’re a fresher (or even at College) you don’t notice what you have until it’s gone.

What are the most important things that should be done to promote gender equality, within Australia and globally?

Education, education, education! Education plays a huge role in closing the gender gap not just in Australia but across the world. We must ensure that both males and females have equal access to quality education across the globe, for how else can both genders have equal opportunity to live out the same fulfilling and successful lives? I also think it’s important to educate people on the gender inequalities that exists within the world so that people are actually aware of what is going on. By doing this we can all do our part to help promote gender equality.

Researched, written, and compiled by Oliver Douglas