Fond farewell to campus favourite

There have been many changes at the Kippa-Ring campus of Southern Cross Catholic College during the past three decades, but a familiar face in reception has been a constant.

Mary Heckelmann has been at the campus for 30 years and, after clocking up 35 years of service with Brisbane Catholic Education, has decided it’s time to retire.

Her career in the education sector started at Redcliffe Special School in 1973, where she spent nine years before taking a break to grow her family.

She returned to work at Soubirous College part-time, then at Blessed Eugene (now St Eugene) at Burpengary before making the move to Kippa-Ring which was then called Our Lady Help of Christians.

“Thirty years on, I’m still here,” she says.

“I enjoy it. It’s good, the contact with the parents and the kids. We have a lot (of former students) who are now back with their own children … some of them have already had children go through to high school.”

Mary has seen plenty of changes during her time at the college – campus names, uniforms and technology.

“There’s been many changes of names – we were Redcliffe campus of Southern Cross ... we became Kippa-Ring Campus, Holy Cross Campus and then MacKillop Campus and now we’re back to Kippa-Ring Campus.

“There have been nine or 10 Heads of Campus, we’ve had five Principals of the college since I’ve been here.”

Mary is not keen to reflect on the impact she’s had on families during her career but says she has always tried to be helpful.

For her, contact with parents and children – even during hectic times – has been something she has enjoyed the most.

Mary says she has been touched by the reaction from families, past and present, to news she is retiring.

A post on the Southern Cross Catholic College Facebook page drew more than 100 comments, many thanking and congratulating Mary, and wishing her well for the next chapter of her life.

“It was interesting to go back and look at some of the names,” she says.

“That was a little bit of a shock, the reaction to it all.”

She will farewell students on the last day of the school year, December 6, and is looking forward to gardening and spending time with her husband, who has been retired for about six years.

“It’s with some sadness that I’m giving it away, but I’ve got to realise my age and … it’s time,” Mary says.

“I have enjoyed it. I have enjoyed meeting the people and the kids.”