This is no clearer demonstration of the achievements applauded during graduation ceremonies at Charles Sturt University (CSU) than the determination shown by one graduate.
Ms Ashleigh Brooks, a vibrant young woman with vision impairment, will be awarded her Bachelor of Social Work from CSU in Wagga Wagga from 2.30pm on Thursday 15 April. She is one of 1 114 graduates expected to attend the six graduation ceremonies at CSU in Wagga Wagga from Wednesday 14 April to Friday 16 April.
23 year old Ms Brooks from Dubbo in regional NSW lived on campus in Wagga Wagga while she completed her degree at CSU. “In stark contrast to some of my previous learning experiences, I was treated like a human being when I started at Charles Sturt University and a nice human being at that,” Ms Brooks said.
“I learnt what it feels like to have true friends, to go to parties, to laugh until your sides hurt and you were crying, and to have someone there for you when times weren’t that good. The fact that I’m blind didn’t worry most students. Students are such a laid-back bunch; they just took it in their stride.
“The University was there to support me, particularly from accommodation staff, disability staff and lecturers,” recalled the CSU graduate.
Bachelor of Social Work course co-ordinator Dr Bill Anscombe said, “Ashleigh is a most remarkable young woman of courage and tenacity”.
“The University, through Disability Liaison Officer Ms Kerrie Lavicka, was able to provide adaptive technical equipment, including PacMate, which enabled Ashleigh to study and live alongside her colleagues and friends.
“I could send Ashleigh the PowerPoint and notes the evening before my lectures and tutorials and she had access to them on her PacMate and was able to do all things with her peers.”
Ms Brooks said, “I thought social work was for me when I read a book in Year Six where a social worker assisted a girl to find her biological mother. As I became older I realised there were many people less fortunate than myself, and decided that I wanted to devote my life to doing some good for the world and the community.”
One of Ms Brooks’s two compulsory student work placements was with NSW Community Services (formerly DoCS) working with children from birth to eight years and with families at risk.
“Prior to this placement, the Community Services’ staff undertook Vision Australia training and Ashleigh undertook Guide Dog training in workplace orientation and mobility,” Dr Anscombe said.
“The University and Community Services developed a range of creative approaches that ensured Ashleigh participated in the whole office environment and in the child protection work.”
Ahead of attending her graduation ceremony with her parents, Ms Brooks said, “While tertiary study isn’t for everyone, if it’s what you want to do, give it a go. I don’t know about other universities, but in a close knit organisation like CSU, you’re not just a number.”
“If you’re struggling with academic, personal, financial or accommodation matters, there are people and services to help you. I found people will treat you like a sensible adult,” Ms Brooks said.
“Ashleigh is a remarkable young person who has developed the ability to engage with clients, make assessments and intervene with skills that make a significant difference to clients. She has courage, determination, ability, intelligence and has met the many challenges with a fierce independence, from which we can all learn,” Dr Anscombe said.
Other graduation stories include:
Wednesday 14 April, 10.30am:
- School of Education graduation ceremony
- Professor of Education at CSU Stephen Kemmis will deliver the Occasional Address. He will wear a combination of his two Scandinavian Honorary Doctorate academic outfits, including white tux, top hat and sword. Read more about his international Honorary Doctorates here
Click here to see Professor Kemmis' Occasional Address.
- Dr Dianne Jonasson will be awarded a PhD for her project, Negotiating academic discourses: Challenges facing international students from non-English speaking backgrounds, and their teachers
Wednesday 14 April, 2.30pm:
- School of Information Studies graduation ceremony and ceremony for postgraduate business degrees
- Occasional speaker is Ms Anne-Marie Schwirtlich, Chief Executive Officer and State Librarian, State Library of Victoria
- Father and son, Mr Andrew Fiddian from Warragul in Victoria’s Gippsland and Mr Matthew Fiddian from Melbourne will graduate together with the same degree - Master of Accountancy. They were unaware they had enrolled in the same degree at CSU
- Seventeen graduates from Cambodia and their guests will attend the ceremony. The graduates will be awarded the Master of Business or the Master of Business Administration. They completed their CSU postgraduate degrees through the Economics and Finance Institute in Phnom Penh in Cambodia
Thursday 15 April, 10.30am:
- Ceremony for undergraduate business degrees and School of Communication and Creative Industries graduation ceremony
- Occasional speaker is Adjunct Professor at CSU Grace Cochrane. She is a curator and writer and formerly senior curator of decorative arts and design at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.
Click here to see Dr Cochrane's Occasional Address.
- The Charles Sturt University Medal will be awarded to Bachelor of Information Technology graduate Mr Gregory Smythe from Wagga Wagga. Read more here
- Lecturer Mr Pat Sproule from the School of Communication and Creative Industries in Wagga Wagga will receive a Master of Arts Practice with Distinction for his project on the new high definition Outside Broadcast teaching facility at CSU. Read here
Thursday 15 April, 2.30pm:
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences graduation ceremony
- Occasional speaker is Foundation Professor of Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University and Professor of Moral Philosophy at King’s College in London, Raymond Gaita. In addition to his work in ethics and philosophy, Professor Gaita wrote the award-winning memoir about his father, Romulus, My Father in 1988. Click here to see Professor Gaita's speech.
- Ms Ashleigh Brooks from Dubbo will receive her Bachelor of Social Work. Please read story above
- Senior Lecturer Dr Bill Anscombe from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga will be awarded a PhD for his project, Consilience in Social Work: Reflections on Thinking, Doing and Being
- Ms Alex Zauner-De Ville from Wagga Wagga will receive a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) First Class. She is currently doing a PhD at CSU entitled, Harry Potter and the Epistemology of Evil. She is also a casual lecturer in Sociology at CSU
- The annual Lila Kirilik Memorial Social Justice Award will be presented to Bachelor of Social Work graduate Mrs Michelle Knight from Wagga Wagga. Read more here
Friday 16 April, 10.30am:
- School of Biomedical Sciences; School of Dentistry and Health Sciences; and School of Environmental Science graduation ceremony
- Occasional speaker is Dean of the CSU Faculty of Science Professor Nick Klomp. He is Professor of Ecology and Wildlife Management and a regular science commentator on ABC Radio in NSW and Victoria
- Dr Nina Fotinatos will be awarded a PhD for her project,The effectiveness of a Cervical Cancer screening program for the women of Vanuatu
- Dr Tamara Jackson from will be awarded a PhD for her project, An appraisal of the on-farm water and energy nexus in irrigated agriculture. Originally from Wilcannia, Dr Jackson is a Water and Energy Analyst Postdoctoral Fellow with the International Centre of Water for Food Security at CSU
- Associate Professor Sue McAlpin from the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga will be awarded a PhD for her project, A Decade of Chaos – A History of Health Restructuring in Rural NSW in the 1990s. Read more here
Friday 16 April, 2.30pm:
- School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health; School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences; and School of Agriculture and Wine Sciences graduation ceremony
- Occasional speaker is Dr John Williams, agricultural scientist and Commissioner of the NSW Natural Resources Commission. He is also a member of the independent Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists.
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