Triple graduation celebration for Toowoomba family

Malcolm, Tiffany and Frances Woodside will celebrate their graduations together

The Woodsides will have three very good reasons to boast during USQ's Autumn Graduation Ceremonies.

Dr Frances Woodside, her husband Malcolm and their daughter Tiffany will don ceremonial regalia and celebrate the conferring of their degrees together.

The titles of doctor, master educator and nurse will be added to the list of family academic successes – and all in the space of one month.

'We didn’t plan to graduate together; it just happened by chance that we completed our studies at the same time,' Lt Malcolm Woodside said.

'It’s definitely going to be a large family celebration.'

Dr Woodside, a Business lecturer at USQ, will be the first to accept her testamur - a Doctorate of Philosophy in Business – this Saturday, April 17.

The mother-of-five and full-time educator attributes much of her academic success to her supportive family.

'Studying for a PhD and lecturing full-time while raising five children aged 21, 19, 17, 16 and 12 was a huge undertaking,' Dr Woodside said. 'I don’t believe I could have achieved it without the children’s assistance and the help and support of my husband Malcolm.'

Dr Frances’ PhD supervisor was Associate Dean Learning and Teaching, Associate Professor Jane Summers, and her associate supervisor was Senior Lecturer, Doctor Melissa Johnson-Morgan.

Lt Malcolm Woodside, an Education Officer/ Instructional Designer with the Royal Australian Army Education Corps, will be the second family member to wear a mortarboard when he is awarded a Master’s Degree in Education during the April 24 graduation ceremonies.

The family will barely have time to mark that honour before Bachelor of Nursing graduand Tiffany, 21, joins that afternoon’s academic procession.

'It’s going to be a busy time, and we’ve planned two family celebrations on both graduation days,' Dr Woodside said.

Studying will still remain an important aspect of the family household, with Tiffany’s younger siblings either at school or higher education institutions, and both Malcolm and Tiffany undertaking further study this year.

USQ Graduations coordinator Anne Loneragan said almost 3300 USQ students would graduate this month, including more than 40 doctoral students.

'This is an unusually large number of doctoral graduands, and more than half of these will be attending the graduation ceremonies,' Ms Loneragan said.

'We will also have our first two graduates from the new Master of Project Management and Master of Business Administration double degree.

'USQ Springfield will be celebrating its second graduation ceremony, with more than 100 graduands.'

The graduation ceremonies for the Faculties of Arts, Engineering and Business will be held at the Clive Berghofer Recreation Centre this Saturday, April 17, at 10am and 2.30pm.

The graduation ceremonies for the Faculties of Education and Sciences will be held at the Clive Berghofer Recreation Centre on Saturday, April 24, at 10am and 2.30pm.

Contact Details:
Madeleine Tiller, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 1163, 0400 025 429