High achieving students among Deakin's first graduates for 2017

The ceremonies, which began last week with an address by the Honourable Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka after receiving an Honorary Doctorate in Law, are the largest round of graduations on the University’s calendar.

Highlights among the graduating students at the February ceremonies included:

• The first PhD graduates from the Institute for Koorie Education (IKE) to have completed their studies exclusively through IKE. The two graduates are now among only 150 Indigenous Australians to hold a PhD;
• Nicole Page, a high-achieving time management master who was a member of three sporting teams and three student societies, participant in international exchange programs in India and Canada, recipient of a Global Citizenship Program Award, and successful applicant for a clinical laboratory placement at Dalian Medical University in China and Biomedical Research Victoria’s prestigious Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), all while completing a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at the Geelong Waurn Ponds campus; and
• A Bachelor of Construction Management (Honours) graduate, Oussama Abou-Zied, who combined his studies with strong community involvement as co-founder of the MUJU Peace Club’s Islamic and Jewish football teams and AFL Multicultural Community Ambassador, was the Junior Premier of Victoria, Leader of YMCA’s Youth Parliament, and co-Chair of the Social Cohesion and Community Resilience Advisory Group.

Deakin University Vice-Chancellor Professor Jane den Hollander AO congratulated the graduates on their hard work and dedication.

“Graduation ceremonies are especially wonderful celebrations at Deakin, because it is when we all get to come together to share in the reward for what is often many years of hard work, sacrifice and commitment from our students,” Professor den Hollander said.

“Our graduates come from a diverse range of backgrounds but they now share a common goal as they set out to make the changes they would like to see in the world. I encourage our graduates to be curious, brave, creative and persistent and to remember that the greatest innovations in history come from people who are bold enough to explore new frontiers.”