But while thousands of students have passed through its doors and received support, the association will cease to exist in its current form from next year.

The BSA will be merging with the student associations at other La Trobe campuses in an effort to create a united voice for all students.

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BSA president Will Griffin said while the organisation would become part of the new La Trobe Student Association, its focus on Bendigo students wouldn't waver.

"We wouldn't be doing it if we weren't making student life better and it's certainly been one of the driving forces for it," he said.

"If we thought it was going to be a detriment to Bendigo or the regional campuses, we wouldn't pursue it or put that work in."

Rob Stephenson served as the general manager of the BSA from 2001 to 2011. He said the organisation was a place where students could feel supported.

"There have always been students who were drawn from other parts of Victoria who would come to Bendigo to study and live on res or live somewhere else," he said.

"So it was really about creating that community and reasons to stay on and around campus.

"If you think back to those days, the location of Flora Hill was probably on the outskirts of Bendigo a bit.

"It was way before the Strath Villages and any of the other shopping centres were there. It was about creating community on campus, which has been a large part of why it continued."

Brad Russell also worked as the BSA's marketing manager from 2005 to 2018.

He said the motto of the association was to help students not only gain a degree during their time at the university, but also lifelong friends and life skills.

"We were well aware that one of the biggest problems students had was the social isolation," Mr Russell said.

"They often felt loneliness because they had come from tiny little country towns, sometimes hundreds of miles away, and knew nobody.

"So it was our role to make sure they found friends, created a network, and became part of the student community as quickly and efficiently as possible so they had a better chance of sticking out the three or four years."

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Mr Stephenson said one thing that set aside the Bendigo association from other student unions was the lack of politicisation.

"There weren't political factions on the board or any of those sorts of things," he said. "I think the board was usually pretty much aligned in its commitment to what we were achieving.

"There was no lobbying for one faction of a political party or any of those sorts of things."

Mr Russell said politics didn't interfere with the BSA and the role it played for students.

"We concentrated on our services and our mission," he said. "There were a couple of big differences between us and the metro universities.

"One was our board. Ours has always been made up of students and current students only, whereas boards in other student unions often included staff members for the university and community members.

"But at the BSA, it was kind of refreshing because you had a new board every one or two years because students would leave after they finished their degrees and new ones would come in to replace them.

"So it was always really refreshing and there were always new ideas."

BSA chief executive Mitch Trevena said that student-led approach set the BSA apart.

"Having our board made up of our students, they have a really good understanding of what is important to students, student issues, what is relevant to students," she said.

"I think that has been a really driving factor behind why we have been so progressive and been able to adapt the services and support that we provide to students here at Bendigo because we understand student needs."

Ms Trevena - the first female chief executive of the BSA - had been working for the association for the past seven years.

She said the organisation had been able to expand its services to students through its connection to different groups in the community.

"We have partnered really strongly with Bendigo Foodshare," Ms Trevena said. "We have worked really closely with the City of Greater Bendigo on our food sustainability and food security plan.

"That has been a really great highlight - it means we have been able to provide a significant amount of food and support to our students free. We have all of those additional services that create a holistic support network for students."

Ms Trevena will be moving into the interim chief executive role at the new La Trobe Student Association when it starts next year.

She said there would still be a direct link to each campus, with elected student representatives acting as the voice for students in Bendigo.

"Students still need support on the ground," Ms Trevena said.

The chief executive said while it was sad to close this chapter of the BSA, it was a time to reflect ahead of the exciting changes to come.

"We're here because of all those people who have worked for the BSA for the past 32 years," she said.

"We are the beneficiaries of their work and the students have been the beneficiaries of the combined work. It took all of those teams, it took all of those elected student reps to make the BSA the success it is."

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