Make Friends for Life!

Vanita and I (Jacqueline) met on the very first day of uni, in O Week 2002. We both lived in Cottage 469 - She was in room 2 and I was in room 5.

Vanita grew up in Mount Beauty, and I was off a farm at Ariah Park. We immediately clicked. It was a relief to meet someone else with similar interests and a shared faith in God. We were still very young but both of us had quite strong convictions about all sorts of things. We are both night owls and enjoyed staying up late drinking tea(!) and discussing all manner of things and dreams for the future.

Vanita met her husband-to-be, Matt, at St Martin’s and was married in 2004. I had the joy and privilege of being her Maid of Honour on the day. She moved out after this, but stayed close to everyone in our cottage. We have remained friends since!

Once we finished uni, I stayed in Wagga, teaching and Vanita and Matt made multiple trips to Africa over the years. They returned to Wagga, and I married my husband, Peter, in 2010.

We both continued to live nearby one another in Wagga and caught up regularly. It was particularly exciting to be expecting our first baby at the same time and we each had a girl (6 months apart) in 2013. Vanita and I had the joy of sharing the highs and lows of motherhood. Our eldest girls crawled around together as babies, attended preschool together and then went on to start kindergarten at the same school. They are both the best of friends to this day.

St Martin’s College was a wonderful base for building friendships while studying on campus. I can always recall the annual Saint’s Ball being a big highlight. Nonetheless, some of the smaller, more ordinary moments were still very memorable. (Teenagers procrastinating from study usually resulted in some funny antics!) A blow-up pool out the back of our cottage was one!

We both recall Peter Savage (former Head of St Martins) being a particularly kind and caring man who was very welcoming and supportive. I still bump into Peter and his wife, Sue, around town. He immediately welcomes me with a big hug and wants to see how our kids have grown.

What’s life like for us now?

Both of our families have moved multiple times around Wagga, but we now currently live around the corner from one another! It has been a wonderful thing to be close-by enough to help one another out or pop around the corner for dinner or a swim in the pool.

Vanita has 3 girls and I have 2 girls and 2 boys. We both love chatting all things gardening and enjoy catching up regularly.

Vanita continues to practice as a Dietician and I as a Primary teacher. Most importantly, we continue to walk with Jesus, attending local churches in Wagga. God has been so very kind – providing this friendship to carry through from our teenage years to now. That’s almost 26 years!!

We are so grateful for St Martin’s College – our meeting point, which was a fun and wonderful way to form lifelong friendships.