A behemoth of Ballarat business, Old Collegian Les Dickinson is a man with a fierce work ethic who helped change the face of retail in the city. Now, as he prepares for his final months after being diagnosed with brain cancer, Les looks back on a wondrous life and shares some of the secrets of his success.

A new era of leadership at St Patrick’s College will commence in 2021 following the appointment Mr Steven O’Connor as Principal. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Mr O’Connor has been unable to visit the College following the announcement of his appointment. So, in an effort to begin re-introducing him to the SPC community, we have spent some time chatting to Steven ahead of his arrival in Ballarat later in the year.

The annual MENtal Brekky, run by the Chris Yeung Fund, has quickly become one of the must-attend functions on the annual St Patrick’s College calendar. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 2020 event was cancelled. However, organisers were determined to continue the important conversation around mental illness and teamed up with Radio Ballarat 3BA to arrange a series of interviews talking about the Chris Yeung Fund and exploring the complex issues around youth mental health during a time of crisis.

Brian Gleeson, an Old Collegian of St Patrick’s College Ballarat was a football star – the best in the land, and poised to dominate the game for years to come. Cruel fate intervened however meaning that after winning the Brownlow Medal, Brian was never to play at the highest level again. In this interview with St Patrick’s College Director of Development Paul Nolan, Brian reflects on his career, on his crushing injury, on some of the characters he met over time and on his ideas for how he would fix football today. Enjoy!