Andrew Barr (BPolSt(Hons) '96)
12 December 2022
I studied a Bachelor of Arts in Policy Studies at the Australian National University (ANU) between 1992 and 1995. Now, I am the Chief Minister and Treasurer of the ACT.
When I was a first-year student, during Orientation Week at ANU, I joined the Student Labor Club. That moment began what has now been more than 30 years of involvement in politics.
Student politics was like a traineeship, if you like, on political involvement at the campus level. Over time, my involvement grew. I became Treasurer of the ANU Students' Association and a board member on the ANU Union, where I developed important skills and friendships. It was a really useful experience that complemented the academic challenges I was able to engage in, across a number of different faculties and subjects.
Together with that experience in the Students' Association and Student Union, ANU made for a well-rounded and interesting few years of my life, and I have maintained the friendships I made.
It's a broad and strong network that constitutes ANU alumni, here in Australia and around the world. Thirty years on, I still often get to re-engage with people I met through those clubs and societies in their professional roles - here in Canberra, Australia-wide, and even internationally.
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