An Inspirational Afternoon with Cathy Freeman OAM

Everyone remembers where they were when Cathy Freeman OAM crossed the finish line in the 400m at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. It was a defining moment in our nation’s history: one that inspired and united the entire country. With the hopes of a nation on her shoulders, Cathy overcame every obstacle to deliver a victory that pushed us all to strive for our best. Achieving that kind of impact once in a lifetime is rare enough, but, as guests at this year’s St Catherine’s Foundation Gala Lunch discovered, Cathy managed to do it again.

In conversation with award-winning journalist Allison Langdon in the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency, Cathy worked her magic once more — this time with words. Without a trace of bravado, she recounted how she first began running thanks to a “pushy teacher” who refused to let five-year-old Cathy hide in the bathroom because she was too shy to race in front of her classmates. Although she never grew to love the spotlight, Cathy came to accept it as part of achieving her goals, noting that “to achieve something great, you have to accept some degree of uncomfortability.”

We were privileged to have several of our Indigenous students join us for lunch and meet Cathy beforehand. The girls were thrilled, especially Suzannah G (Year 12), who was lucky enough to be invited on stage at the last moment to ask Cathy a question. In true St Cath’s fashion, Suzannah stepped up without hesitation, asking Cathy about her most meaningful interaction with strangers. The question left Cathy momentarily speechless before she replied, with tears in her eyes, that it had been meeting our girls earlier that day, which left her feeling hopeful for the future.

Everyone was watching, but it felt like me and Cathy having a chat together. It was a mixture of feeling both awestruck and having a chat with an old friend at the same time.
Suzannah G (Year 12)

We were also honoured to have three Indigenous St Cath’s students and alumni directly involved in the event. Siennah Morgan (STC 2023) delivered a beautiful Acknowledgement of Country, while fellow 2023 graduate Alannah Brennan spoke about how a St Cath’s education has set her on the path to achieving her dream of becoming a human rights lawyer.

We also shared the video below, featuring national swimmer and rugby player, Cobi R (Year 10), who spoke about how attending St Cath’s has helped her discover her potential. “St Cath’s has provided me with so much support, so I want to give back to the school as much as possible and do my best. I feel really grateful and proud to represent the school. It’s a big opportunity and it doesn’t come around very often, especially for Indigenous students,” she said.

Cathy echoed this sentiment, speaking about the transformative power of education for young Indigenous Australians; a fitting message for an event dedicated to raising funds for our Indigenous Scholarship Fund. She reflected on how attending boarding school as a young girl “changed the trajectory” of her life, giving her access to the resources and opportunities that helped shape her into the athlete she was meant to be. She thanked guests for their generosity in “creating a better future for everyone, a better Australia” by supporting Indigenous Australians through the Scholarship Fund.

That gratitude was well deserved. Thanks to the generosity of guests and the wider St Cath’s community, we have been able to contribute nearly $200,000 towards our Scholarship Fund, helping us ever closer to our goal of providing Indigenous scholarships in perpetuity. This extraordinary result would not have been possible without the ongoing support of our sponsors and partners, including our platinum partner, Orthoboutique, our Major Raffle partner, Sylvania BMW, and our gold, silver and lucky door prize sponsors.