Three months working with traumatised children in a developing country has given a Charles Sturt University (CSU) social work graduate a new perspective on life. Ms Rhonda Emonson, from Albury, will be among the first four graduates of the Master of Social Work (Professional Qualifying). As part of her postgraduate studies at CSU, Ms Emonson worked with orphans on the island of Negros Occidental, west of the Philippines. “We’ve all heard about communities that survive without sewerage, electricity, shelter, and on a cup of rice a day,” she said. “To live in these circumstances is heartbreaking yet inspirational.” She said the international work placement has been a highlight of her studies. “It’s created a yearning to work with those who have so few resources and struggle to survive from day to day as a result of poverty and lack of infrastructure,” she said. The Master of Social Work (Professional Qualifying) allows students with a prior degree to gain professional accreditation with the Australian Association of Social Workers. Read more about the six graduation ceremonies at CSU in Wagga Wagga from Wednesday 30 March to Friday 1 April 2011.

A social work academic from the United Kingdom is the guest lecturer at residential schools at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Monday 16 April. The visit by Professor Pamela Trevithick, from Buckinghamshire New University, is being hosted by Professor of Social Work, Manohar Pawar, of the CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Wagga Wagga. “Professor Trevithick is an entertaining and provocative speaker and is well known in the UK and internationally for her forthright views on the purpose of social work and the ways in which social work contributes to a better society,” Professor Pawar said. “She has interesting and useful views on the role of social work in capitalist societies generally, and clear strategies for bringing change both at individual and societal levels. Professor Trevithick has visited a number of Australian universities to discuss social work practice skills with students, practitioners and educators.” While lecturing at a residential school, Professor Trevithick will talk to community and academic social workers along with students about the skills and knowledge needed in social work.

The rising cost of healthy food, the relatively low cost of food high in sugar, fat and salt, and the relationship between the two and the rise in obesity in Australia, will be discussed during a free public lecture in Wagga Wagga on Thursday 19 April. Co-hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Wagga Wagga City Council, the lecture will be delivered by public health nutritionist and academic Dr Catherine Burns from Deakin University. Dr Burns is a Senior Research Fellow in the University’s WHO Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention. In this position, Dr Burns has developed a research program centred on food security.  Her lecture, Is the Cost of Food Making Us Obese? will propose changes in public policy and practice to improve access to healthy food and to tackle obesity. The lecture will be held from 6pm in the Council Meeting Room, Civic Centre, Baylis Street in Wagga Wagga.

There is high praise for the professionalism of one pharmacy graduate from Charles Sturt University (CSU). The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) – NSW Branch has named graduate Ms Sally Whiting as the 2010 NSW Intern of the Year. Ms Whiting received the honour during the Society’s 2011 March Weekend Conference held in Sydney on Saturday 26 March. Ms Whiting was awarded her Bachelor of Pharmacy Class 1 Honours  at CSU in Orange in 2010. She completed her 12 month internship, which is required for national registration, at Rozanna’s MediAdvice Pharmacy in Mudgee. Ms Whiting is now employed as a pharmacist at Blooms the Chemist in Orange. In a statement, the PSA said Ms Whiting “quickly established an enviable reputation for her passion in her chosen career which was demonstrated by her compassionate manner, exceptional knowledge and customer service skills”. She was also praised for her proactive management of patient medication and for “assisting them in helping to achieve their quality of life, confidently embracing the expanding role of the pharmacist in providing professional patient-focused services.” In congratulating Ms Whiting, Program Leader of Pharmacy at CSU, Mr George K John said, “It is students and future leaders like Sally that Charles Sturt University and the pharmacy profession are proud of, and would like to have engaging with the community”.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is encouraging schools from across NSW and Victoria to compete in a new online business simulation competition to invigorate student engagement in their business studies. The CSU Faculty of Business is introducing to schools CSU Business - Game On, a ‘virtual’ business competition where Year 11 students form teams and play for the opportunity to win regional prizes of up to $1 000 or the major prize of $2 500. “Participating student teams will engage in the GoVenture Any Business simulation game that is hosted and funded by Charles Sturt University,” explains Dr Abhishek Dwivedi, a lecturer in the School of Management and Marketing. “It allows students to build and operate their own ‘virtual’ business in a simulated market environment.”

A former Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has discovered the value of research isn’t just the results but the skills learnt along the way. The Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) Honours, student from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Mr David Gale investigated using compost as a replacement for synthetic fertilisers. His research involved a glasshouse trial at CSU in Wagga Wagga and a four month field trial in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam in late 2010. Mr Gale found compost can increase plant yields but because large volumes need to be applied, the strategy is not likely to be widely adopted in the short term. He said while the research has added to industry knowledge, the real benefit is a personal one. “People were right when they said that I couldn't expect to change the world through this project,” said Mr Gale. “But it's also about thinking critically about one aspect of the world in which we live, which ultimately results in a deeper thinking and understanding of the world as a whole.” Mr Gale is now a Graduate Trainee with NSW Primary Industries at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute at Camden.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) postgraduate student is hoping people will take a ‘hands-on’ approach to finding beauty in germs when visiting an exhibition of her work at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery. The exhibition, Pathogenesis by Wagga Wagga based textile artist Ms Marita Macklin, is inspired by the forms and textures of organisms that infect the human body.  Featuring sculptural pieces with embroidered silk and organza, the exhibition is designed to be touched. “I’d like people to see there is so much we don’t know about the microscopic world,” Ms Macklin said. “Something beautiful can be inspired by something we think of as being disgusting.” The exhibition is the culmination of two years of study for her Master of Arts Practice through the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU. “It’s definitely allowed me to develop my artwork to get to a professional standard and to delve into one area to push it as far as you can,” Ms Macklin said.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic has been recognised for the vigorous pursuit of his profession to help improve health outcomes of rural and remote Australians. The Rotary 9700 District Vocational Excellence Award was presented to Professor Patrick Ball in front of several hundred Rotarians during the District’s annual conference, which was hosted by The Rotary Club of Orange North on Saturday 2 April. “While I am named on the award, this honour is made possible by team work,” said Professor Ball. “I could not do my job as Professor of Rural Pharmacy without the support and dedication of the entire pharmacy team at Charles Sturt University in Orange and Wagga Wagga.” The Vocational Excellence Award recognises those “who have demonstrated very high achievements in their vocation, and contributed significantly to the advancement of that vocation in their community, nationally or globally.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students will give a modern twist to bible stories when the University Theatre Ensemble (UTE) presents The Mystery Plays from Tuesday 27 March. Lecturer with the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Mr John Saunders, said mystery plays were the beginnings of popular theatre, responding to the primitive desire of people to ‘act out’  the stories of their lives. “From rage to revelation to redemption, this is a tell-all production, where you will catch a contemporary version of past events,” he said. “Like the medieval mystery plays, this production is outside the theatre.”  The stories will be performed in a variety of locations around the University’s Performing Arts complex in Wagga Wagga, with a short walk between each site. Directed by Mr Saunders, with mask and movement direction by Mr Thomas Papathanassiou, the short plays will be performed by second year Bachelor of Arts (Acting for Screen and Stage) students. Design is by students studying a Bachelor of Arts (Design for Theatre and Television).