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
Tinashe Mudanga – Bachelor of Design
Bella Campbell – Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Art
Daisy Davies – Bachelor of Criminology
Grace Baker – Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science
Hamish Wright – Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Computer Science
Henry Buckley – Bachelor of Commerce
Ibtesam Ifaz – Master of Business Analytics
Jack Nash – Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Banking and Finance
Lauren McInnes – Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science
Nellie Richards – Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Marketing
Samyuktaa Raj – Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Biomedical Science
Selenge Bayarkhuu – Bachelor of Economics
Sophie O’Dwyer – Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Biomedical Science
Alexander Aidt – Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Secondary Education and Bachelor of Music
Alice Hengel – Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
Charlie Lynch – Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce
David Perry – Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
Ellen Vote – Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce
Hannah Morpeth – Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Science
Jing Yuen Ng – Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
Marcus van Maanen – Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Science
Mia Kirby – Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce
Simon Young – Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Science
Sophie Fritsch – Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Science
Xavier Schmedje – Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
John Hansen – Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce
Natasha Dean – Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce
Alex Bielen – Bachelor of Biomedical Science
Amalie Pullman – Bachelor of Psychology
Annabel Plank – Bachelor of Biomedical Science
Anthony DeMaria – Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine
Ava Bandt – Bachelor of Health Sciences
Ella Kidd – Bachelor of Health Sciences
Greta Dwyer – Bachelor of Biomedical Science
Gustav Scroce – Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine
Hannah El-Hage – Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine
Jasmine Salman – Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine
Jenul Jayakody Arachchige Don – Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine
Marco Velazquez Delgado – Master of Biotechnology
Mina Rose Gagniere – Bachelor of Health Sciences
Monique – Guest Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours)
Oliver Hair – Bachelor of Biomedical Science
Sienna McDougall – Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine
Sophie Scalzo – Bachelor of Health Sciences
Emily Zou – Bachelor of Biomedical Science
Zoe MacGregor – Bachelor of Medical Science and Doctor of Medicine
Brodie Graham – Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts
Cristina Perez – Bachelor of Science
Darcy Conroy – Bachelor of Science
Katherine Teodorczuk – Bachelor of Science Advanced – Global Challenges (Honours)
Shakira Kamarul Ariffin – Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts
Emily Godber – Bachelor of Nutrition and Bachelor of Marketing
