Rate My Professor Amber Robertson

Amber Robertson serves as the Warden and Tautiaki at Aquinas College within the University of Otago's Campus and Collegiate Life Services. Responsible for the welfare of residents, staff, and overall college operations, she has led initiatives building strong student connections, including intercollege sports like volleyball, netball, badminton, and Ki o Rahi, alongside cultural events such as board-game nights, quiz nights, art competitions, Orientation, Sports Day, Toga Night, Food Fear Factor, Gatsby Gala, and the 20th AQ Gut Buster. These efforts culminated in a Cultural Performance Evening highlighting student arts achievements and an End of Year Awards Dinner recognizing community resilience. Robertson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Otago, completed over 12 years while working and raising her family. Initially interested in social work, she shifted to Anthropology for its focus on cultures and group behaviors. Her University career started as a part-time chef in Unicol kitchens, advancing to chef at Arana College, food service manager at a rest home, and teaching technician in the Human Nutrition Department after taking related papers. There, she offered pastoral support to students on personal matters. She also ran the Captain Cook Hotel as a student pub and, inspired by Arana warden Jamie Gilbertson, finished her degree before serving five years as deputy warden at Caroline Freeman College, then becoming Warden at Hayward College in 2022, and transitioning to Aquinas in early 2025.

In 2024, Robertson received the University of Otago Appreciation Award for her unwavering support and resourcefulness in creating inclusive environments for students with disabilities. At Hayward College, she partnered with Disability Information and Support to install alarms, develop bespoke evacuation procedures, add privacy curtains and accessible workstations, and restore compliant carparks, aligning with the Te Whare Tapa Whā ethos of holistic wellbeing encompassing taha hinengaro, taha whānau, taha tinana, and taha wairua to empower students' strengths.