Graduation at Notre Dame's Broome Campus

Document Type

Media Release

Publication Date

Winter 4-7-2005

Publisher Name

The University of Notre Dame, Fremantle

Publication Place

Fremantle

Abstract

The University of Notre Dame Australia 's Broome Campus held its mid-year Graduation Ceremony last week with 28 Higher Education graduates and 21 VET graduates. Five of the Higher Education graduates were Indigenous.

The Higher Education Indigenous graduates were Kazue Akune, Bachelor of Education; Desiree Bissett, Bachelor of Counselling; Rose Kelly, Bachelor of Arts; Ethel McLennon, Bachelor of Business and Amy Tang Wei, Bachelor of Nursing.

Three of the graduates, Ms Akune, Ms McLennon and Ms Kelly, completed a Vocational Education and Training (VET) Pathways course at the Broome Campus prior to commencing their degrees.

After finishing school, Ms Akune worked as an Aboriginal Teaching Assistant at Beagle Bay while completing the Diploma of Education and then moving onto a Bachelor of Education degree at the Broome Campus. Ms Akune comes from a multi-cultural background; her father is Japanese and her mother an Aboriginal woman from Beagle Bay .

Ms McLennon, formerly the CEO of Warmun Community, completed a Certificate IV in Management before articulating to a Bachelor of Business degree. She is a Gija woman who hails from the Warmun Community in the East Kimberley and is a mother to six children. She now works with Patrick Dodson (widely known as the 'Father of Reconciliation') and the Lingiari Foundation, an Indigenous non-government advocacy and research Foundation in which Mr Dodson is Chairman. Ms McLennon is involved in establishing a tourism business partnership between the Lingiari Foundation and the Argyle Diamond Mine at the Argyle mine site.

Rose Kelly is a Nyul Nyul woman who lives and works in Beagle Bay where she is the Chief Executive Officer. Married with four children, Ms Kelly completed a Diploma of Education before articulating into the Bachelor of Arts (Aboriginal Studies).

Head of VET at Notre Dame's Broome Campus Catherine Maughan said, "These graduates are truly amazing women. With so many family and community commitments they still some how managed to fit study into their busy lives. We are extremely proud of them and commend their determination and willingness to succeed".

With twenty-one Indigenous students graduating from VET Pathways this year, the program is set to continue providing access for all Indigenous people to Higher Education degrees.

The VET courses in Business and Education offered by the Broome Campus are nationally recognised qualifications.

For media related information contact: The Media Office, University of Notre Dame, Direct line: 08 9433 0698, Mobile: 0408 959 138, Email: media@nd.edu.au

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