Head of Toroa College
Christina Watson-Mills
As Head of Toroa College, Christina lives on site with her husband Craig. She is responsible for the day-to-day running of the College and has a duty of care for all residents and the community.
She works closely with Rob, Deputy Head of College, and together with the RAs they manage the pastoral care and welfare and academic support of the residents.
Christina is available to meet and talk with residents to discuss all manner of topics including academic, financial, health and other general concerns.
An introduction to Toroa from Christina
Our residents and staff are active, engaged and busy – both in their academic studies and in the Toroa community. We know that education is not limited to the lecture theatre and learning at Toroa comes from our academic support programme, social events, random conversations, and the connections we all make within our close-knit community. Together we create a first year experience that encourages everyone to continue growing to their full potential.
The rich tapestry of our community comes from the personal, social and cultural experiences we share with each other. We recognise and celebrate individuality because we believe that we can all learn from each other – living and learning is not just a statement at Toroa.
Living closely with others brings with it the need for personal responsibility, respect and consideration. With this in mind we have a well defined community standard and our residents remain committed to this philosophy throughout the year. It is our aim to ensure that everyone can pursue their educational goals in a setting that is conducive to study.
Each resident is invited to meet with me at the start of the year with a view to developing a plan to ensure they meet their goals. This meeting ties in nicely with our think once, think twice, think academic programme, where we bring faculty members to Toroa prior to lectures starting. At this time residents get the chance to meet an academic staff member and discover how to be a good learner and a critical thinker within their area of study. Our commitment to helping residents achieve their goals continues throughout the year with our academic support progamme and monitoring of residents' exam results.
As one of Otago’s best kept secrets, Toroa provides a welcome and friendly space where residents can be themselves. We believe that it is our responsibility to help our residents prepare for their ongoing study at university and that is why I believe Toroa really does take them one step closer.