An annual prize to highlight a Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate’s commitment to social justice will be donated to The Edel Quinn Shelter, a homeless support service for men in Wagga Wagga. Bachelor of Social Work graduate Mrs Michelle Knight from Wagga Wagga has been awarded the Lila Kirilik Memorial Social Justice Award  for her project, SHINE - Squalor and Hoarding Integrated Networking Enterprise, adirectory of services and their contacts in Wagga Wagga that can  help during cases of squalor  or hoarding. The project was compiled while Mrs Knight was doing her workplace learning in 2008 at The Forrest Centre, a service for the aged and disabled people in Wagga Wagga. Mrs Knight said, “I am donating the $500 prize to the Edel Quinn Shelter because of the organisation’s help in putting together the network”. The Lila Kirilik Social Action Award was established by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Wagga Wagga in 2004 in honour of the late Ms Lila Kirilik, a senior lecturer in social welfare at CSU.

A paramedic from the South Australia Ambulance Service brings a different perspective on pre-hospital ambulance practice to her new role as a paramedic educator at Charles Sturt University (CSU). Professor of Paramedic Practice and Leadership at CSU’s School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, Professor Peter O’Meara, welcomed the appointment of Ms Rhiannon Evans, saying, “Rhiannon strengthens the paramedic program through her experience as a recent graduate and her clinical practice. She brings the youth and vitality that was so much a feature of her leadership role within Student Paramedics Australasia (SPA), a special interest group of the Australian College of Ambulance Professionals.” Ms Evans’ first interaction with CSU staff and students was in her role with SPA. “I was surprised at how relaxed and friendly everyone was,” she said. “Even before I applied for the lecturer position, I was being supported and encouraged. I’m a strong believer that a great education is student-driven and is about encouraging students to focus their learning to get the most from their experiences.”

Celebrations have taken place after two Indigenous trainees at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga graduated from the TAFE NSW Riverina Institute. Ms Maggie Lipu and Ms Stacey Anne Gemmell received their certificates in business administration during a ceremony in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday 23 March. Ms Lipu completed the course while employed by the University’s School of Education in Wagga Wagga as an Indigenous trainee since the start of 2009. Ms Gemmell finished the same program while working in administration for CSU Training. The traineeships were offered as part of the Australian Indigenous Employment Strategy, which aims to increase the number of Indigenous staff at CSU. Now employed as a casual Administrative Assistant with the School of Education, Ms Lipu is doing a Certificate IV in Community Services at TAFE and hopes to eventually do a CSU degree in social work. Ms Gemmell is considering enrolling in Certificate IV in Frontline Management through CSU Training, then a Diploma of Events Management in the future.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) PhD student has won a $15 000 scholarship to help improve the growth and management of summer pastures in high rainfall areas of south western Victoria. Margaret Raeside is evaluating the benefits of a summer-growing variety of tall fescue grass species called ‘Quantum’ for the EverGraze research project undertaken by CSU and the NSW Department of Primary Industries. The project aims to boost profits to wool and livestock producers while reducing groundwater levels and reducing soil salinity. CSU’s Dr Michael Friend is an EverGraze NSW site leader and Ms Raeside’s supervisor. He said the scholarship recognises the importance of Ms Raeside’s work to utilise perennial pastures in grazing systems to improve farm profitability and environmental outcomes. The three year scholarship is from the South Australian-based AW Howard Memorial Trust.

The Lithgow Ambulance Station will be recognised on Wednesday 24 March by Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst for being the ambulance station that provided the best mentoring for CSU paramedic students during 2009. Senior representatives of NSW Ambulance and paramedic students who went to Lithgow for clinical placements in 2009 will be present when Professor Peter O’Meara and senior lecturer Ms Veronica Madigan, the 2009 CSU Lecturer of the Year, present the School’s Certificate of Excellence in Clinical Mentoring. Professor O’Meara said, “This inaugural award is in appreciation of the positive role of the Lithgow paramedics in preparing CSU paramedic students for practice. The selection of the Lithgow station for this award was based on feedback from students who undertook clinical placements at 50 ambulance stations throughout NSW. The mentoring approach of the Lithgow paramedics has set a standard that other ambulance stations can now aim for in order to make a major contribution to the education and training of paramedic students.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will recognise academic excellence among its graduating students and the wider community at Graduation in Orange on Friday 26 March. Graduates include those studying Agricultural Business Management, Nursing, Pharmacy and Clinical Science. The occasional address will be delivered by Mr Charles Armstrong, President of the NSW Farmers Association, and the vote of thanks on behalf of graduates will be given by Agricultural Business Management graduate Mr Simon Crump, who recently participated in a two month Australian Indonesian Youth Exchange Program and has begun his career in the agricultural industry at the NSW Farmers Association in Sydney. The graduation ceremony will be held at the Orange Civic Theatre at 10.30am on Friday 26 March with graduates, their families and friends attending the ceremony.

Parents of NSW Central West senior high school students are encouraged to register for an opportunity to discuss life after Year 12 with staff and current students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Friday 26 February. “The Parent Information session will look at options after Year 12 such as a gap year, graduate outcomes, pathways into university and costs associated with university study,” CSU prospective student advisor Ms Fran Dwyer said. “Parents will find out about financial assistance such as scholarships, student support services, discuss regional universities versus metropolitan universities, and we will also offer an optional campus tour.” Running from 9.30am to 12noon on Friday 26 February, the session will take place at CSU in Orange. To register, call Ms Judy Walsh on (02) 6338 6010.

Undergraduate business students from South Korea and China who will study business at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will be welcomed at a special morning tea  on Wednesday 24 March. The Acting Head of the School of Business, Dr PK Basu, said the students will spend at least one year completing the CSU undergraduate business degrees they commenced at Donggkuk University in Seoul, South Korea, or at Jilin University in Changchun, China. “This is the first group of students from Donggkuk University to study at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, and they chose this campus because of the climate and the access to Sydney,” Dr Basu said. “Students from Jilin University have been studying Charles Sturt University business courses for the last decade, and its academics and students regularly visit the University’s campuses in Australia. This year we have 12 Chinese students studying in Bathurst. Both groups of students have said they are enjoying their educational experience and the rural and regional setting,” Dr Basu said. It is expected that the number of students from Korea and China studying at CSU in Bathurst will continue to grow.

International food manufacturer Mars Petcare is helping put more ‘real life’ experience into Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) accounting degree by providing two CSU students with internships at its Wodonga headquarters. Mars Supply Finance Manager Mr Nathan Quinlivan said the company was happy to provide opportunities for local people to experience work at a global leader in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. “Charles Sturt University accounting students were invited to submit applications to undertake internships and were then short listed for interview and selection by Mars, with Mr Brian Kemp and Mr Mark Wilde chosen for the internships,” Mr Quinlivan said. Head of CSU’s School of Accounting, Associate Professor Ross Wilson, said the internships are part of the new work experience in industry subjects developed by CSU’s Faculty of Business. He said the new internships were timely given the release of an Australian Council for Education Research report which called on universities to provide more internship opportunities for undergraduate students, showing CSU was ahead in identifying the need to offer hands-on work experiences that better equip graduates when they finish their degrees. Students who complete the structured internships also receive credit for an elective subject in the CSU accounting degree program. Professor Wilson thanked Mars for its initiative and called for other regional firms interested in providing similar opportunities to local students to contact the School of Accounting at CSU in Albury-Wodonga.