To honour their past students' achievements An Evening of Inspiration bi-annually applauds the school's Inspiring Alumni and the Young Alumni Achievers for 2019 celebration night.

This year six Inspiring Alumni and seven Young Alumni were recognised.

Melissa Patterson could not have guessed she would have ended up where she has if asked what her career ambitions were after completing work experience in Year 10.

"After I did my work experience at St Joseph's Primary School I 100 per cent thought I would not be a teacher," she said.

"I guess that's a message to everyone; it's ok not to have it all carved out in your early years. I didn't know which path I was going to take."

Mrs Patterson began her high school years at St Ann's before the co-educational Emmanuel College was formed.

After graduating in 1995 Mrs Patterson began a Bachelor's of Applied Science majoring in Human Movement at Ballarat University.

When travelling in London, Mrs Patterson came to the conclusion she wanted to follow a career in education and jetted back to Australia to complete a Graduate Diploma of Teaching.

She worked at Trinity College in Colac before heading to Africa in 2006 with the Edmund Rice and Christian Brothers where she spent six months teaching in schools and the slums of Tanzania.

In 2011 and back on Australian soil, Mrs Patterson trekked to the Northern Territory and worked in remote Aboriginal communities.

After meeting her husband Cam, the two developed Marrma' Rom; a foundation bringing young men and women from North East Arnhem Land to Geelong to grow leadership opportunities.

"Together, Cam and I are passionate about Indigenous education," Mrs Patterson said.

"We saw a need for Indigenous students from some of the remotes parts of our country to have an opportunity to develop their leadership to give back to their communities.

"It's not about taking them out of their land, it's about letting young people walk in two worlds and take that knowledge to be roles models in their homes and have an impact."

So far 20 Indigenous young men and women have taken part in Marrma' Rom. Past participants have gone on to forge strong leadership roles in their communities and pursue further education. Most notably, Yolngu singer Yirrmal Marika has gone to carve a successful career in music and has become one of Australia's rising stars following in the footsteps of his grandfather and former lead singer of Yothu Yindi, Mandawuy Yunupingu.

Alongside Mrs Patterson; Stephen Lee, Michael Owen, Father Barry Ryan, Helen Ridgwell and Cheryl Hicks were all celebrated.

As one of 12 children, Stephen Lee grew up with the mindset to go after anything he wanted. It is this attitude that has allowed him succeed in sporting and musical endeavours.

Since leaving the Christian Brother's College in 1979, Mr Lee has travelled the world and furthered his education and career down the path of law.

In July 2018, the young boy who once sat in the courtrooms on Gilles Street had his dream come true by becoming a magistrate and being appointed to the bench.

Michael Owen is born and bred the Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club.

Alongside his brothers and father, Mr Owen has been heavily involved in the club ever since he stepped foot onto sand.

Throughout his teenage years Mr Owen claimed several state and national skiing and surfing titles before he stepped into the role of physical education teacher.

After a short stint in Portland, Mr Owen began teaching at Christian Brother's College where he graduated from in 1982.

Father Barry Ryan graduated from Christian Brother's College in 1957 and his childhood appreciation of nature led him to priesthood.

His career has enabled him to travel and advocate for vulnerable people experiencing poverty and human impacts contributing to climate change.

In 2015 Father Ryan celebrated his 50 years of services to the Church and countless lives have been influenced by his captivating way of communicating complex ideas through gospel.

Helen Ridgwell has become renowned in Warrnambool as the matriarch behind the Tasty Plate.

As a young girl spending time amongst the vegetables at her grandparents home in Nullawarre, Ms Ridgwell's love for food began.

She graduated from St Ann's in 1971 and after experiencing the challenges people with disabilities face through her son Simon, Ms Ridgwell ultimately founded the Tasty Plate.

Now in its tenth year, her business is thriving and creating brighter futures for people with disabilities.

The award-winning catering company is now being explored as a model to help other marginalised people and Ms Ridgwell is collaborating with the government to roll-out a three-year state-wide program.

Cheryl Hicks was honoured posthumously for work in aviation.

As a young girl, Ms Hicks was ever the daredevil seeking her next thrill.

After graduating from St Ann's in 1988 she took on full-time work to navigate the airways at the Warrnambool Aero Club.

For the next ten years she excelled in flying and was employed as a shuttle service pilot on Horn Island in the Torres Strait. Tragically she was killed in flying accident on a shuttle run to Coconut Island.

Ms Hicks is fondly remembered by her friendly nature and determination.

Emmanuel College has recognised it's first group of Young Alumni Achievers at the 10th annniversary Night of Inspiration.

The Emmanuel Young Alumni Achievers are college graduates are aged under 35 and are already providing inspiration to Emmanuel students past and present.

School prinicipal Peter Morgan said it was a great opportunity to recognise people who are more relateable for the current students.

"This program was introduced in recognition there are so many people achieving so much in the early stages of their career," he said.

Seven former students have been included in the list of inductees for 2019, from a range of different industries.

Artist Aimee Timpson, from the Emmanuel class of 2002, has been recognised for her creative work and the classes she runs to help mentor people back into creating art, and for helping VCE students prepare their final folios.

Peter Cho, class of 2006, started as a graduate at Macquarie Capital and has risen to a vice presidents' position in seven years. He has developed new mental heath practices within the bank.

Two members of the class of 2008 Australian basketball player Nathan Sobey and Commonwealth Games distance runner Virginia McCormick (nee Moloney) have been selected for their sporting achievements, representing their country at a variety of international events.

Liam O'Keeffe, class of 2003, is the senior manager at the Victorian Racing Club at Flemington. He started working at Warrnambool Racing Club while in year 11, and has now participated in a study tour of UK tracks Royal Ascot, York and Newmarket, plus looking at operations in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Business woman Edwina Goodall, class of 2010, has spent eight years building Warrnambool Timber Industries with her husband. The business is now the largest glue-laminated timber manufacturer in Australia. Ms Goodall also runs Ed Quick Design, a engineering software company.

Snap Fitness franchisee Emma McDowall, class of 2007, was recognised as the Most Innovative Franchisee for the group in 2016, from over 2500 gyms worldwide, and the gym with the largest clientele in 2017.

Principal of Emmanuel College Peter Morgan is thrilled the school's Evening of Inspiration continues to highlight alumni.

"It's a special night we hold once every two years and it's an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the achievements of graduates," he said.

"We celebrate with them the amazing achievements they've had in their lives and their careers. We hope these people can inspire our current students who also aspire to great things in the future."

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