Speech by Isobel Kuo, President, Burgmann Residents’ Association (BRA), on the occasion of Family Weekend, 8 May 2021
Residents, families and beloved guests, it is with great excitement that I welcome you to the 2021 Family Weekend Gala Dinner.
As we rejoice in the feeling of being here together with our loved ones, it is important to acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, who, for millennia, have met on this land, celebrating belonging and community.
Before I begin, I’d like to thank Rebecca Stoljar and Declan Duncan-Keen for their incredible work in putting tonight’s festivities together. Your positivity, resilience, vision and drive during this process have been unparalleled, and we all owe you a huge vote of thanks.
I’ve always seen Family Weekend as the biggest uno-reverse card. After years of enduring the usual playdate set-up—the hiding behind the legs and the reproachful glances—it’s finally my turn to introduce my parents to complete strangers, shoo them away, and ‘hope they go make friends’.
It’s a strange feeling to play the role of the guardian. But it’s not an unprecedented one in the scheme of university life. Just as your loved ones once did for you, you find yourself waking up early to watch disc games; making sure you get front row seats so you can cheer on the debate team; doing endless lifts from College to Messina to doctors’ appointments, because you have a free moment and you’re happy to lend a hand; being there to celebrate all the victories; and being a person to lean on for all the losses.
In my time at College, I’ve played the role of the guardian for my friends and they’ve played that role for me. I think that is a really special part of being at Burgmann. Bar the incredible support you get from the staff here, there’s also this incomparable feeling of community support, that you have a College of people cheering you on at every step.
I remember the first time I went home, I tried to articulate all of this to my parents. I really struggled to encapsulate the spirit of this place, until they visited me midway through my first year. I was so excited to show it all off to them—for them to finally ‘get’ what I was talking about.
Interestingly, I think that ‘showing off’ is a big part of Family Weekend. To show off the fact we have these friends who go above and beyond for us; to show off the fact we’ve grown into people who we are proud to be; to show off our high-flying academic achievements, our newfound passions and, of course, our creative capacity to convert our tiny boxes that we call rooms into something liveable (but, seeing the state of some residents’ rooms, liveable is stretch—and don’t be fooled! I think I saw the vacuum more in use yesterday than I have this entire year).
I remember thinking when I got dropped off at College that now I was finally an adult. No longer would I need to call home for anything—like the key to my College door unlocked a thousand skills lurking deep within me. And then I got sick and had no idea how many Panadols to take or how to get myself to a doctor, and was genuinely confused as to why a steady stream of chicken soup was not appearing by my bedside periodically.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learnt how many Panadols to take, that a doctor’s appointment isn’t that hard to book, and that my dad really spoilt me with his fantastic soup. I’ve also learnt that you’re never too old to rely on the family you choose or the family you’ve been given.
I still cry every single time my parents drop me off at the airport. I still wave at them until the last possible moment and look back again and again to see if they’re still watching—and they always are. But something that has brought me comfort when I inevitably have to stop waving, and can no longer see them through my tiny airplane window, is the fact that, wherever I go, I’ll take a piece of them with me.
We all take a piece of your wisdom, your sense of humour and your values with us wherever we go, even as we play the role of the guardian in our Canberra home. And that’s the thing about loved ones, they’re never that far away, because they are the fabric of what makes you YOU.
Thank you to our families and loved ones for joining us this evening—while you’re never too far away, it’s a pleasure to have you here in person.
Thank you,
Isobel Kuo
President, BRA
