Students to graduate in Sydney on Saturday

Over 400 students will graduate from Southern Cross University in two ceremonies in Sydney on Saturday.

The ceremonies, for graduates from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Faculty of Business and Law, will be held at the Wesley Conference Centre in Pitt Street.

Vice Chancellor, Professor Peter Lee FTSE, will address the graduates at both the 1pm and 4pm ceremonies.

There are 107 graduates from the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, 88 from the School of Commerce and Management, 82 from the Graduate College of Management, 53 from the School of Arts and Social Sciences, 43 from the School of Education, 22 from the School of Health and Human Sciences, 19 from the School of Law and Justice, four from the School of Environmental Science and Management and two from Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples.

Chancellor The Hon John Dowd, AO QC will confer the degrees. “Graduation day is an opportunity for our students to reflect both on the past and on the future and it may well be a significant change in the direction of their lives,” he said.

“Whatever direction their lives may take, the skills that they have acquired and developed here at Southern Cross University will stand them in good stead, not only in their working and professional life, but in life generally.”

The two Occasional Speakers for the event are Dr Ruby Langford Ginibi, Aboriginal author and historian, and lecturer on Aboriginal history, culture and politics and Dr Ian Kiernan AO, DSc, executive chairman, Clean Up Australia/Clean Up the World.

Dr Langford will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters of Southern Cross University on the day.

“I will take the opportunity to speak about the history of my people and the importance of the new generation to read and understand that history, and to do all they can to help make a difference in the lives of Aboriginal people,” Dr Langford said.

“I am proud of how far I have come in my life. I had to leave school to earn a living when I was just 13 years old. I was in the lowest class 2F at Casino High School. I didn’t have the same rights and opportunities as young people have today.

“At one time I had to earn my living by working in a fencing gang with men because there was no other way I could feed my family. I hope I will make these new university graduates realise how fortunate they are and what a positive contribution they can make to the lives of Aboriginal people through their attitudes and actions.”

Dr Kiernan will share the story of his meteoric rise from being a builder by trade, to amateur and then professional sailor and now world-acclaimed environmentalist.

Dr Kiernan said he had a simple philosophy: ‘everyone can and should contribute to the health and protection of their local environment’.

In his talk he will touch on the need to be practical in all you do, and the key necessity to find what it is that stirs your passions, then to develop your expertise so you can add real value in a practical yet commercial sense.

Photo: Dr Ian Kiernan, the Occasional Speaker for the second graduation ceremony being held in Sydney on Saturday.