University of Newcastle students will gather in Callaghan’s Great Hall over the coming days as nearly 2,300 graduates receive their degrees this week.
The ceremonies will include more than 400 nursing students – a significant boost to the health workforce across our regions.
Professor Mark Hoffman, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and a Vice-President of the University of Newcastle said the ceremony will an opportunity for students to celebrate their success.
“For many of these students a significant portion of their degree will have been impacted by COVID-19 so it is an opportunity for us to acknowledge this achievement.
“Completing a higher education qualification should be celebrated at the best of times and we know that the past two years have presented many challenges above and beyond what we usually face, so I applaud each and every student who will be graduating this week.
“We aim to ensure our graduates are life-ready and I have great confidence that this cohort will be exceptional graduates who are prepared to succeed in their new career.”
Passion for health and science inspires dramatic career change – Dr Claudia Lawson
Not many people can claim they have had a career as an international media lawyer, liaising with identities such as David Attenborough and Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson, but now works as a doctor.
For Dr Claudia Lawson, this Wednesday, April 13, will celebrate the completion of five years of study to become a doctor, after deciding to follow her passion for science, health and the human body.
Claudia will graduate with a Bachelor of Medicine from the University of Newcastle’s Joint Medical Program (JMP) however it won’t be the first graduation ceremony she has attended. Claudia is also a University of Newcastle Law graduate.
In 2005 she graduated with a double degree in Law and Forensic Science (with Distinction), but soon realised she didn’t want to follow a path working in laboratories.
“I decided I couldn’t be a forensic scientist as there wouldn’t be enough talking or interaction for me,” she laughs.
“So, I followed the traditional route and went into private practice working for a law firm,” she explained.
After moving overseas with her now husband Dane, Claudia landed a role with the BBC in London working as a media lawyer, and later for FOXTEL and the ABC in Sydney.
“I had the opportunity to work with people such as David Attenborough and the team from Top Gear as we handled the legals for the shows and negotiated with networks.”
But the yearning to develop a career in the health and science field was too strong for Claudia, who now works as a doctor at the John Hunter Hospital. She is currently undertaking a rotation in orthopaedic surgery through a part time internship, which she job shares with another University of Newcastle graduate, Dr Jocelyn Ledger.
“It is really fulfilling and high-pressure work. It is rewarding knowing you are making collaborative and meaningful decisions to improve people’s lives,” she said.
Claudia hopes to specialise in paediatrics, obstetrics or women’s health.
While studying medicine, Claudia had two children, now aged 5 and 2, who will attend the graduation ceremony to celebrate with their mum.
Homecoming for global achiever – Sam Parker
Sam Parker
Speaking from a stopover at Dallas Airport, Sam Parker, has decided to use the 18-hour flight ahead to put the finishing touches on his graduation speech.
The long journey from the United States will be worth it according to Sam, when he receives his Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) (Honours) at Monday’s ceremony.
“It’s like coming back to where it all started,I’m so excited to see family and friends and professors that I worked closely with at Newcastle,” Sam said.
“The time that I spent away, it’s been time to reflect about what a positive experience it was,”
“You can really create your own path and carve out the sort of engineer that you want to be… It’s just a really supportive and nurturing environment to kind of become a diverse engineer,” he said.
Sam Parker has brought those ambitions to life and is currently completing his Phd in Biomedical Engineering at Brown University, USA.
A long list of his accolades includes the 2020 University Medal for Engineering (Electrical) award, a study abroad semester through Newcastle’s ‘Global E3’ – an international exchange program for engineering graduates, and an internship at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base in California.
While the Valentine local has continued to reach new heights, he says his career was sky-rocketed by the support he received close to home.
“When I wanted to do this ambitious biomedical engineering funding project, they didn’t hesitate to throw their full support behind me,” Sam said of the University’s Engineering faculty.
“They said, ‘yeah you can do it,’ and we’ll help you and give you the resources and the support that you need to excel and branch out and make yourself stand out,’ he said.
Sam will continue to fulfil those expectations as he celebrates a long-awaited gradation.
From a young high school student cold-calling our professors, to his place now in the Ivy league – Sam attributes his foundations and a love of learning to the University of Newcastle.
Finding empathy through education – Dr Shirley Clifton
When Shirley Clifton graduates with her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Education on Monday April 11 she’ll be celebrating the culmination of nine years of study.
It’s a moment that Shirley said is “absolutely joyful”.
The journey to reach this moment hasn’t been without its challenges, with Shirley at times working up to five part time jobs to get by whilst completing her studies.
Her aim was to finish her PhD by the time she turned 60, but now at 64, she wants to continue working and would like to see her research have a positive impact on the lives of young people in schools.
With a background in visual art, Shirley’s research focuses on young people responding to and acting on the world with empathy. There is a particular focus on student and teacher conversations, interactions and actions during artmaking classes.
In today’s world where media provides endless confronting images of violence and events like the war in Ukraine Shirley said it was common for people not to engage empathically with such events as they’re so focused on their own lives.
Yet we see young people, school aged children, who are engaging in protests, they’re frighteningly aware of climate change and they’re taking a stand for their futures , they’re involved in the Black Lives Matter movement, all while dealing with the repercussions of COVID 19.
So, Shirley set out to explore how empathy fits into the curriculum and what role it plays in schools.
Her PhD follows a long list of academic achievements at the University of Newcastle, including a Bachelor of Visual Arts, Graduate Diploma in Art, Graduate Diploma of Education and a Masters in Special Education. Her advice to anyone looking to begin their pathway into higher education is that it’s the perfect avenue to explore if you’ve got something you want to change in the world.
For Shirley it was making a difference in the world of education, something she’s certainly made her mark on having recently been selected from over 150 applicants from 80 countries to be awarded the International Society for Education Through Art’s Doctoral Research Award 2022.
