It is with pleasure that we share some of the stories from our ex-ressie's

We would love to hear from you and share your stories. If you are interested, please email us at alumni@johnxxiii.anu.edu.au.

Mihiro Morooka

I remember feeling extremely nervous on my first day at Johns. It may seem normal and something that happens to everyone, but given that my knowledge about Australia was limited to guidebook-level information and my English wasn’t great, I was stressed all the time. Due to my unfamiliarity with the Australian accent and local slang, I wasn’t even able to have a proper conversation with the kind person who helped me on my first day. I quickly lost confidence that I would have a great university life at Johns.

Sophie McCredie

It feels like only a short time ago I left Johns, but now 1.5 years later, I’m filled with excitement and nostalgia every time I stroll down Daley Road or bump into college friends on ANU campus. In 2020, when I made the move from Sydney to Canberra, I had no idea what to expect. I remember arriving in A2 on my first day and feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement as I was met with friendly faces and O’Week was just about to commence. It wasn’t long until I was well settled in, with regular Tim Tam nights in our SR’s room and three-hour-long dinner conversations in the dino. 

Damon Reynolds

‘A2 - All Things Johns’, the theme of our corridor and one of the first things I saw upon stepping into the residential block. The halls were covered in blue and white posters, and each room had a door sign with weird and whacky Johns related things – ping pong, otb, cordial, tav, etc etc. Of course, at the time, none of it made sense, but in the coming weeks, our curiosities of this exotic place were answered.

Michael Lee

I came to John XXIII College in 1978 as a student of ANU Arts and Law. I had come from an all-boys school in Sydney and loved the co-ed relaxed post adolescence environment of Johns. During my 4 years at the College, I was Bar Manager, College President and a member of the Junior Commons Room Association.

Jonathon Peatfield

I was standing with a group of new mates, at our first “Out the Back day” back in 2004. We had a hilarious O’week and meet plenty of infamous Johns characters, D.Dot etc. I knew instantly that I was going to have an amazing time at College.

Darren Sutton

Aristotle is purported to have said ‘give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man’. Gendered language aside it seems reasonable that our values are imprinted on us by our parents, care givers and environment early on.