More than 500 graduates of The University of Notre Dame Australia were inspired to leave the university with a deeper understanding of their unique gifts and talents, a compassionate and humble heart, and a desire to act with a spirit of service in their professional lives.
Benefactors, donors, academic and departmental staff, friends, family and other members of the Notre Dame community joined to celebrate the achievements of graduates from the Fremantle Campus at the Graduation Mass and Ceremonies on Friday, 22 July, 2016.
Reflecting on Notre Dame’s outstanding Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) results for 2016, especially being number one in Western Australia for ‘Overall Quality of Educational Experience’ and ‘Graduate Employment Rate’, graduates were called to be bold, confident and go beyond the ordinary in order to make an active contribution in their communities.
The highest achieving graduates delivered the farewell addresses at each of the two ceremonies – Catherine Vann (Bachelor of Communications and Media) and Kara Johnson (Bachelor of Education – Primary).
It was also a momentous occasion for three graduates who were conferred higher degrees by research – Dr David Gilchrist (Doctor of Philosophy, Business), Dr Tegan Grace (Doctor of Philosophy, Health Sciences) and Erin Fee (Master of Philosophy, Health Sciences).
The Graduation Mass took place at the Basilica of St Patrick in Fremantle. During his homily, the Most Reverend Gerard Holohan DD, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Bunbury, called on graduates to listen to the voice of Christ for strength and wisdom as they deal with life’s challenges.
The university will have held a total of nine graduation ceremonies and farewelled more than 1200 students nationally before the end of 2016 – two in July and five in December on the Fremantle Campus and one in Broome in August. Hundreds more from the Sydney Campus celebrated their graduation at the Sydney Town Hall in April 2016.
“We believe that the best education we can provide any person is one which encompasses specialised expertise, with the capacity to reflect on broader perspectives, including the ethical and social dimensions of their work, research, decision-making and promoting the common good,” Professor Celia Hammond, Notre Dame’s Vice Chancellor, said in her address to graduates.
In paraphrasing Pope Francis, Professor Hammond urged graduates as they left the university to “be more than mere spectators and not to watch life go by from the balcony – rather to cultivate projects of wider breadth and go beyond the ordinary”.
For photo galleries, videos and links to presentations delivered at Notre Dame’s Graduation Ceremonies nationally, please visit nd.edu.au.