CQUniversity graduates inspired and proud at twin Brisbane graduation ceremonies
Hundreds of students have completed their study journeys and forged new paths for the future at the CQUniversity Brisbane Graduation Ceremonies on 31 August.
Held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre' the two ceremonies featured a combined total of around 200 graduands from a variety of nationalities including Nepal' Sri Lanka' Mongolia and England.
Graduands heard from two guest speakers' Duku Forè' the founder of Rich Dreams' and CQUni alumnus and Stanwell Corporation General Manager Generation Brad Perry.
Mr Perry' who completed a Graduate Diploma of Maintenance Management in 2000' and a Master of Management (HR) in 2015 at CQUniversity encouraged the graduates to always plan ahead in his address.
"To be able to graduate today you must have been able to demonstrate a high level of capability and self-management to be able to juggle the priorities of life' study'" he said.
"You would have had to plan well' to get to here; but planning is more than just day to day; it's also about long term goal planning to achieve your desired outcomes.
"The power of visualising what your goals might look like' when achieved' is powerful."
During the morning ceremony' CQUniversity awarded retiring CQUniversity academic Margaret McAllister an Honorary Award as Emeritus Professor' in recognition of her many years of service to the University.
Among the graduands to cross the stage were six who received a Doctor of Philosophy:
- Tanya Capper for her thesis on workplace bullying and the midwifery student experience
- Colleen Ryan for her thesis on professional development of Australian clinical teachers
- Shannon Dhollande for her thesis exploring the emergency healthcare response to domestic violence
- Bryan Gadd for his historical research on the lived experience of 18th Century characters in fiction
- Vicki Lowik for her thesis on a Christian woman's experiences of domestic violence
- Sabiha Marine for her research on the short-term effects of localised change in commercial fishing pressure in Queensland.
Acting Vice-Chancellor and President Alastair Dawson' in his address to students' congratulated the graduates on their achievements in the wake of the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's the biggest disruption in living memory. This is important because you are living through it – and succeeding'" he said.
"You can take pride in knowing you achieved your qualification amidst huge disruption. You prevailed."
The Associate Vice-President's Region Medal was also presented to Master of Management for Engineers student Deeksha Rahanoo.
First Nations graduate Christi Chapman was one of three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to cross the stage. Christi was also a recipient of the Wangan and Jagalingou Clermont Aboriginal Community Development Fund (ACDF) Scholarship during her Accounting and Human Resources studies.
Ceremony 1
Ceremony 2
