USQ Springfield Valedictorian Letitia Schleehauf will be one of more than 100 students to don ceremonial regalia and celebrate the conferring of degrees at a graduation ceremony to be held at the Ipswich Civic Centre on Saturday (13 April).
Letitia studied a Bachelor of Business Administration at Springfield and has already landed a job in the People and Culture Department at RUD Chains.
The high achieving student said she was honoured to be named Springfield Valedictorian and would be talking to graduates about success in her speech.
'My message to other students will be that our graduation means we’ve already proven we can succeed,' Letitia said.
'Making it to our graduation shows that if we put our minds to something, then we can succeed.
'I am the first person in my family to study at university, so I remember back in my first year how nervous I was. By second year I had the hang of it and in my third year I was counting down to graduation.
'I’ll be asking other graduates to cast their minds back through their journey at university and consider how far they have come and to celebrate their success.'
Letitia believes it is important to have work/life/study balance when undertaking university studies.
'I didn’t just study all the time. I had a part-time job in retail, worked as a peer-note taker and Meet-Up leader at the university,' Letitia said.
'Meet-Up is a student-led program bringing students together who are doing the same course. We held sessions to help students understand course content, develop learning skills and use their study time more effectively.
'It was great to know I was helping other students succeed and form relationships in what can be a daunting atmosphere initially. I also made sure I had time to have some fun. I think it is really important to have that balance.'
USQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas congratulated Letitia and her fellow students ahead of their graduation this weekend.
'This is a great opportunity to recognise the outstanding achievements of our alumni and honour their dedication to their studies,' Professor Thomas said.
'I am very proud of our graduates and wish them all them the very best into the future.'
Springfield Graduation Ceremony
Where: Ipswich Civic Centre
When: Saturday 13 April.
The Graduation March procession will depart from the bottom of the Ipswich City Mall at
2pm (students will assemble from 1.45pm) and the Graduation Ceremony will begin at 2.30pm.
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