University of Southern Queensland winter graduation 2024 | Photo gallery
One UniSQ graduate is on a mission to help farmers across the world with the help of Darling Downs agriculturists. See his story and all the photos taken at the event here.
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Hundreds of proud families supported their loved ones as they entered the next major milestone of their lives after graduating from the University of Southern Queensland.
The 2024 winter graduation ceremonies took place at the Empire Theatre on Tuesday, June 25.
One master’s graduate, Bishal Bhandari, said he was on a mission to learn as much as he could from Australia’s leading agriculturists so he can improve the food security in his home country Nepal where farmers, the country’s largest economic sector, have been battling debilitating drought conditions much the same as in Australia.
After completing a bachelor of agriculture and science in India, Mr Bhandari said he came to Toowoomba to better understand the vital industry, its challenges, and how leading technology in the field was reshaping the landscape.
“Now I’m working as a seed analyst, with that experience I’m hoping to gain more transparency and knowledge towards improving things back in Nepal,” he said.
He said the climate in Toowoomba is quite similar to Nepal, however in his home country farmers were not paid enough to support their families.
“The technology we are using there is not advanced enough to changes things drastically,” he said.
“That’s why I wanted to study agriculture … so I could help contribute to farmers (in Australia and Nepal)”.
He wanted to thank the Toowoomba community for being warm, kind and welcome during his stay, as well as the UniSQ.
“I don’t know how I could leave … that’s for the future to know,” he said.
Mr Bhandari said his parents and brother travelled from Nepal for his graduation.
“I was really excited for graduation,” he said.
“I was one of the best feelings I have ever had.”
Deanne Doherty said she has always wanted to be a teacher ever since she was little, when she would play school with her neighbours. After a study hiatus of 30 years between her undergraduate degree and master’s degree she completed her Master in Learning and Teaching with flying colours - and distinction to go with it.
“It was amazing moment and the most incredible closure of all the years of hard work,” Ms Dougherty said.
After four and half years of studying and working as a teacher’s aide part-time, raising three kids, and living on a farm out near Texas, she said getting through study was not easy.
“There were a few dramas too, our property flooded, we had a fire out the back, and lot going of other things going on at the time,” she said.
Ms Dougherty is now working as a teacher for prep one at Inglewood and Texas, with 12-30 students in her class.
“I had been a teacher aide there for number of years and it was a natural progression from that to go into a teaching degree,” she said.
She said she was excited to continue to explore using technology within the classroom with best practices and methodologies learnt from her studies.
She was joined by her proud family for the ceremony on Tuesday and afterwards they celebrated with lunch at a cafe in the city.
“She has worked tirelessly and very diligently with so many things thrown at us in the meantime,” her husband John Doherty said.
“To come through that with a distinction is incredible.”
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