Katherine (Katie) Plume, President of the 2021 St John’s College Student Club

SJC alum, 2019-2021

John’s is a safe place for people who like to try new things. And I’m the perfect example of that. I wanted to launch Safe and Sexy Week. The staff supported it. The students attended the sessions. And the wider community recognized its value. Now, it’s going national.

As President of the St John’s College Student Club, Katie used her leadership platform to establish Safe and Sexy Week. Originally intended as a program for John’s students to encourage conversations about consent, sexual positivity, health, and more, it is now a growing moment. Katie recently registered it as a business and is travelling around to other Australian Colleges to deliver the program with her team of five, which includes her sister, Annabelle, (2013-2015 St John’s College resident) and Eloise Tighe (SJC resident 2019-2021).

While at College, Katie studied Exercise and Nutrition Science and rowed crew. She will start her postgrad studies in Physiotherapy next year and continues to support St John’s as a Young OJ (Old Johnian). She is now coaching the John’s rowing team and delivers the Safe and Sexy program annually at the College.

For Katie, the decision to come to St John’s made sense. She wanted to be at a College for all rounders. She appreciates how Johnians embrace one another’s quirks and points of difference.

“John’s is the epitome of ‘your friends are the family you choose’. The John’s community is so unique. You will never find anything like it anywhere. I’ve never been in another community where everyone wants the best for one another all the time, every day. It’s simply not something that can be replicated anywhere”.