Joanne Hession, class of 1988
''I loved my time at Muckross. Thankfully, I’m still in touch with many of my Muckross friends so I don’t miss them because they are close. I do however miss the hockey - I loved hockey and being part of a team. That’s definitely what I miss most''
''Thankfully, I have many [favourite Muckross memories]. I went to the Junior and Senior so I have very fond memories of Sr Brenda Mary making us laugh when we were 7 or 8 - pretending to put us in the bin if we were bold! She was loving and kind and I felt very cared for. In the secondary school I loved the French trip with Sr Barnabas, the school shows (I wasn’t the acting type but I loved watching!), all the sports (I played table tennis, tennis, hockey – really anything that was going, whether I was any good or not)''
''I have very fond memories of teachers especially Ms. Delaney who taught us Leaving Cert Accountancy. She had a quiet calmness that you dared not disrupt – her focus and interest in us doing well was palpable and I always appreciated that''
''I loved the endless laughing with friends, cycling down the dual carriageway to and from school with my sister and 3 pals from where we lived, gabardines flying. I loved mass in the chapel – it always had a nice feel about it''
Fun fact: ''I LOVE stationery - there's nothing nicer than a beautiful new notebook!''
''At the moment, I’m leading a not-for-profit initiative aimed at increasing the level of positive leadership capabilities in Ireland called LIFT Ireland. LIFT stands for ‘Leading Ireland’s Future Together’ and consists of an eight-part group learning programme that is being rolled out all across Ireland through a growing network of LIFT volunteers. We have an overall goal of reaching 10% of the population within ten years. LIFT Ireland was started out of a desire to change the country for the better by improving the way people look at themselves as leaders, because in different situations everyone is a leader at some stage. At LIFT Ireland, we want to help create a nation of leaders by getting people to think about positive leadership values and how they live those values in their daily lives. The more people ‘live LIFT’, the better it will be for our country’s future. LIFT is for everyone - being a leader isn’t about having a title, position of authority or ranking. You don’t have to be a captain, manager or CEO. All of us are leaders and LIFT helps us to build our leadership and in turn ensure that any influence that we have is positive. Every person, and every organisation involved in LIFT is united by their belief in the power of positive leadership. Anyone reading this is welcome to join, check out www.LIFTireland.ie:”
Advice for your 18 year old self:
''Take part in everything, try everything, get to know as many people as you can – everyone has something interesting and wonderful about them''