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Clare Wever, a former school captain, remembers her time at McKinnon High School fondly – reminiscing about sports carnivals, house musical festivals and netball. But it is the sense of community and connectedness that she valued the most, and she’s experiencing these things at ��ɫapp in Melbourne, where she now lives.

‘The McKinnon High School family is very connected to the community,’ says Clare. ‘You always feel comfortable and excited to get involved. And I felt it was an honour [to represent the school] because of all it had done for me.’

That’s not to say all of her high school years were smooth sailing. Completing Year 12 during a global pandemic was certainly challenging. As one of the school’s leaders, Clare was conscious of the importance of her role during what was an extremely difficult and isolating VCE year. ‘I was grateful to be able to work closely with the staff and other school captains to create a memorable year for our cohort. Which was not really expected.’

The sense of community and the possibility of long-lasting friendships is what drew Clare to ��ɫapp. Her father Jon (TC 1992) and uncle Chris (TC 1994) are both Trinity alumni and she remembers growing up thinking that her dad’s college friends were friends for life. ‘He used to say to me “you know, I had a really fantastic time here”,’ says Clare. ‘And so, I’ve always been intrigued by that.’

Clare says that while she is intrinsically motivated, her parents are her role models and have always encouraged her to pursue her passions.

One of those passions is science, in particular biology, which has led Clare to study biomedicine at Melbourne University. Unsurprisingly, it is the community aspect that enticed Clare into this discipline.

‘I'm definitely keen to keep medicine as a pathway,’ says Clare. ‘I think you run the risk of going into a degree like biomedicine with tunnel vision towards medicine, and potentially miss out on really important learning of what health sciences can do for the community and the other pathways you can take within that.’

And what does she make of Trinity so far?

Like most Trinity students, the community is what stands out. ‘I’d heard great things about the clubs and the rooms and your corridors … but it’s the people that you meet, and you can’t predict that.’

For Clare, the feeling of inclusion as a first-year student was also a nice surprise. Despite her family history at Trinity, there were always going to be some beginner’s nerves, but those feelings dissipated quickly. ‘Everyone here is so lovely and warm and inclusive.’

Clare’s advice for younger students is to make the most of your high school years – broaden your skills and get involved whenever you can. ‘Being brave enough to branch out and seek those kinds of experiences is something I’d recommend.’

In , Clare gives a tour of ��ɫapp.