When Orange's Jenna Hattersley was at school she never thought she 'had the brains for university', so it's not surprising to hear how proud she is after finishing her studies at Charles Sturt and officially marking the occasion too.
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A fifth-generation Orange resident, Mrs Hattersley joined her fellow class of 2020 graduates to celebrate at the university's rescheduled, on-campus ceremonies, which were postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That celebration was a long-time coming too, not just because of the delayed celebrations.
Having my biggest supporters there - my family, husband Al and children - showed them that anything is possible.
- Charles Sturt graduate Jenna Hattersley
Mrs Hattersley started her Bachelor of Business Management eight years ago, juggling her part-time studies as she worked full-time and also bringing her two children - seven-year-old Angus and three-year-old Tilly - into the world along the way.
"I'm the first one to graduate in my family and this ceremony is the first graduation my parents have attended, so it's an important celebration," Mrs Hattersley said, after collecting her degree on Thursday.
"The graduation ceremony was the one moment I had been focused on to get me through my degree.
"The feeling of accomplishment I had when I was wearing the gown with my family there was exactly what I envisioned on those days when I felt like I couldn't do it anymore.
"Having my biggest supporters there - my family, husband Al and children - showed them that anything is possible."
Allowing graduates to have their families and friends attend was a priority of the university's in rescheduling the graduation ceremonies at Bathurst, with more being held at the Wagga Wagga campus this week as well.
Mrs Hattersley hasn't slowed down since finishing her degree either, she's continued in her working as operations coordinator for Charles Sturt's dental clinics and has kick-started her own wellness business - Tailored Lifestyle.
That kind of professional development was exactly why she started her degree, she said.
"I started my degree to continue onto the next step," Mrs Hattersley explained.
"The goal in mind was to lead a team in the corporate world. Now I'm in a position where I can apply all the skills and knowledge from my degree, as well as the courses I've done, to my new business and focus on a new idea I have.
"I also want to grow as a leader and manager in my full-time role and to help others achieve their own goals."
Another of Orange's graduates who is doing just that is Mina Lama, who moved to the city from Kathmandu to complete a Bachelor of Computer Science.
Sadly, the continuing impact of COVID-19 meant her family in Nepal weren't able to make the trip to celebrate with her, but Miss Lama was excited to be able to graduate alongside her friends nonetheless.
"My whole family are so happy that I am graduating, but sadly they couldn't attend," Ms Lima said.
"But my friends who are like my family were here today and they were more excited than me.
"I have never had graduation ceremony, so I was really looking forward to [it]. I believe it's the ceremony to celebrate your hard work and dedication to achieve the degree.
"It was wonderful to see the happy faces of all the graduates."
The final round of on-campus graduation ceremonies for the class of 2020 will start at Charles Sturt in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday, June 15.
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Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
