Students flock to Bay for O Week

More than 200 new students arrived on campus at USQ Fraser Coast for the official opening of the academic year and the start of Orientation Week on Monday 25 February 2008.

The students are enrolled in degrees in Education, Nursing and Sciences, Business and Counselling.

The majority of them areentering university straight from high school. Forty-three are mature-age or direct entry students.

The academic opening was conducted by campus Provost Dr Ken Stott. Twenty-three scholarships and awards were presented during the ceremony. The Chancellor's Scholarship was won by from Aldridge High student Natasha Stanberg.

Natasha is studying a Bachelor of Commerce degree and will be working part-time while at university.

Other award winners were: Hayley McGillivray, Audrey Redmond Memorial Prize; Elle Grewar, Avance Chartered Accountants Award; Megan Knoblauch, Bonnie Boreham Memorial Award; Phillip Shephard, CPA Award; Lisa Stephenson, EDI Rail Scholarship; Toni Darlington, Freemasons Lodge Award and Hervey Bay City Council Scholarship; Chere Kenyon, Hervey Bay Chamber of Commerce Award and Ulton Group Award; Trent Walters, Hervey Bay City Council Marketing Scholarship; Marion Sneddon, Len Fisher Memorial Award; Danielle Sauer, Lewis and McNamara Solicitors Award; Joan Johnson, Olga Miller Bursaries; Renae Eastall, School Partnerships Program Scholarship (Urangan State High School);  Isaac Sheehy, Year 12 Scholarship (Hervey Bay State High); Andrea Brooks and Chi Redpath, Non School Leaver Scholarships; Gillian Stinson, Distance Scholarship; Rebecca Dippel, Distance Bursary; Karan Dobson, Primary Connections Scholarship; Barbara Hogan, Primary Connections Scholarship; and Heather O'Brien, Primary Connections Scholarship.

Many of the new students on campus this week are locals, but some have moved to the region from interstate and overseas.

Kert Venter, 21, is starting a three-year business degree in tourism management. He arrived here from South Africa two weeks ago.

Fellow international students Sarah Kenny, from Canada, and Hannah Perse, from Germany, are doing education degrees.

Sarah will spend three years here studying a Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood, while Hannah is here for a year as part of the Study Abroad program.

During their first day on campus all three students took part in the filming of a promotional DVD to attract international students to USQ.

Media Contact: Katrina Corcoran USQ Media Fraser Coast +61 7 4120 6167