For over 30 years Eric Wright has sat at the helm of the Nepean Community College but now he is moving on to a new chapter of his life.
Wright has decided to retire as Principal of the College after 36 years and was this week honoured by Mayor Todd Carney to thank him for his long period of service to the community.
“Since its founding days in 1988, Eric Wright has been Principal at Nepean Community College for over 35 years,” Carney said at Monday night’s Council meeting.
“Throughout the years, Eric has nurtured and transformed the College into the thriving institution and the community education hub that it is today.
“During Eric’s time, he has overseen many thousands of students of all ages, abilities and backgrounds come through the doors.
“I have had the privilege of working closely with Eric during my time on the Board of the Community College and have witnessed firsthand Eric’s constant quest for ways in which the college could innovate and find different and engaging ways to provide a supportive and effective education service to the community.
“Eric has been instrumental in implementing processes and procedures for other colleges across the state, and mentoring principals on how to create successful educational organisations.
“The community, his staff and students are constantly at the forefront of Eric’s mind, motivating him through the years to guide and lead with the upmost enthusiasm.”
Fellow Penrith City Councillors Mark Davies, Ross Fowler, John Thain and Bernard Bratusa all spoke highly of Wright and wished him a happy and healthy retirement.
Wright said he looked back proudly to his achievements over the last three decades.
“I think often I underestimate what the College achieves,” Wright said.
“You feel like you are just a small part doing small things [in a] small organisation but when I did the numbers recently from 1997 through, we’ve had something like 60,000 thousand individual people that have done stuff with the College and if every person becomes part of a network in the community, then that’s a lot of community that’s been built in the classrooms.”
As for what he has planned for his retirement, Wright wants to keep learning.
“I’m thinking about learning Hindi [and] maybe harmonica,” Wright said.
“Learning stuff and catching up on the really long list of stuff I haven’t done around the house.”
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.