Tertiary study can be challenging at the best of times, but the past few years have had the added challenges of COVID-19 and historic floods, so for 60 La Trobe University students in Shepparton, that made graduating all the more sweeter.
The students, including 21 who graduated in absentia, received their qualifications in a wide range of courses, including nursing, social work, business, arts and education at the Eastbank Centre in Shepparton on Tuesday, March 21.
The milestone marked a momentous achievement for each, given their own unique stories.
One of them, single mum Julie-Anne Bamblett, graduated with a bachelor of nursing after being inspired by her mother earning a diploma of nursing from TAFE.
“At that stage, I never thought about going to uni,” she said.
“I was scared of it. I lacked confidence.
“Study was very difficult with COVID and home schooling and working as well full-time at Rumbalara, so yes, it was difficult.”
Ms Bamblett is only the third First Nations nursing student to graduate with La Trobe from Shepparton and she is hoping her achievement, like her mother’s inspired her, will lead to many more following her.
“I think that's why I went to uni, so that I can inspire other young Indigenous women to study,” she said.
Shaneka Dooly graduated with a masters in social work and a bachelor of human services.
Already working full-time in the disability sector as an NDIS co-ordinator, she said support from the university’s First Nations education staff had helped keep her on track.
“Now that it’s all done very, it’s very overwhelming, but also very exciting,” she said.
The first of six siblings to complete further education, Ms Dooly said her family was proud of her achievement, especially as the study would enable her to help others.
“I grew up seeing the gaps in family services and believed that doing social work could help fill some of those gaps,” she said.
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous) Associate Professor Michael Donovan said with La Trobe and Melbourne universities, Rumbalara, Kaiela Institute and Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence all dedicated to improving education services in Shepparton, he saw the city becoming a focus of education for the First Nations community across the state.
“These partnerships are growing and hopefully we will build and become a little bit of a regional educational capital to some extent at some stage,” he said.
La Trobe Vice-Chancellor Professor John Dewar said graduations were the highlight of the year for the university, and each of the graduates deserved credit for overcoming the challenges of the past few years.
“Some of the students who are graduating have overcome the most incredible obstacles,” Professor Dewar said.
“So they’ve had a really tough time, and it’s just an amazing achievement that they’ve overcome all of that and come out graduates. That’s just brilliant.”