Academic Excellence Takes Centre Stage at Mannix College

On Wednesday 18 March 2026, Mannix College proudly recognised its top academic performers from Semester 2, 2025 at its Academic Awards formal dinner, bringing together students, staff, and guests to celebrate the communities scholarly achievement.

This year, the College recognised 52 students with Academic Awards, alongside 11 recipients of the prestigious Knox Scholarships. Named in honour of Cardinal James Robert Knox, Archbishop of Melbourne from 1967 to 1974, the scholarships commemorate his role in blessing and laying the College’s foundation stone on 23 May 1968. Each scholarship is awarded to the highest-performing resident within their faculty and includes a $1000 prize, generously supported by the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. In addition, students who achieved a High Distinction average in their Semester 2 studies were presented with Academic Excellence Awards. These honours reflect not only individual dedication and discipline but also the supportive academic environment cultivated within the College.

Notably, Mannix residents continue to outperform broader university benchmarks, underscoring a strong commitment to academic success and the College’s reputation as a thriving hub for student excellence.

The ceremony served as both a recognition of outstanding achievement and a reaffirmation of the College’s mission to support students in reaching their full academic potential. Awards were presented by College Principal Andrew Swan and Professor Claire Macken, Senior Academic Director in the Portfolio of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience) at Monash University.

The evening featured a keynote address from Dr Harry Al Wassiti, who spoke on the role of failure in shaping success. Drawing on his experience developing mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Al Wassiti challenged students to rethink setbacks, not as endpoints, but as indicators of where success is yet to be found.

Knox Scholars 
Tinashe Mudanga – FACULTY OF ART, DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE
Bella Campbell – FACULTY OF ARTS
Jack Nash – FACULTY OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
Alexander Aidt – FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Jing Yuen Ng – FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
Joss Lopez – FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Natasha Dean – FACULTY OF LAW
Ava Bandt – FACULTY OF MEDICINE, NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES
Zoe MacGregor – FACULTY OF MEDICINE, NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES
Anthony DeMaria – FACULTY OF MEDICINE, NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES
Cristina Perez – FACULTY OF SCIENCE

Academic Awards
Daisy Davies
Grace Baker
Hamish Wright
Henry Buckley
Ibtesam Ifaz
Lauren McInnes
Nellie Richards
Samyuktaa Raj
Selenge Bayarkhuu
Sophie O’Dwyer
Alice Hengel
Charlie Lynch
David Perry
Ellen Vote
Hannah Morpeth
Jay Ng
Marcus van Maanen
Mia Kirby
Simon Young
Sophie Fritsch
Xavier Schmedje
John Hansen
Natasha Dean
Alex Bielen
Amalie Pullman
Annabel Plank
Ella Kidd
Greta Dwyer
Gustav Scroce
Hannah  El-Hage
Jasmine Salman
Jenul Jayakody Arachchige Don
Marco Gabriel Velazquez Delgado
Mina Gagniere
Monique Guest
Oliver Hair
Sienna McDougall
Sophie Scalzo
Emily Zou
Brodie Graham
Darcy Conroy
Katherine Teodorczuk
Shakira Kamarul Ariffin
Emily Godber