Milestones
- Students Success Stories
Garry
Russell - Bachelor of Arts
A very proud mother watched as one of her sons was
presented with his Bachelor of Arts at the University of New England's graduation
ceremony on 6 October. Mrs Sadie Murray lives in Armidale and attended the
ceremony to see her son, Garry Russell, graduate after he overcame many
personal and academic challenges to achieve his goals.
With an ambition to work with Aboriginal students
at one of the regional schools near his home community, Garry enrolled at
UNE in 1996. He completed his Arts degree this year with majors in Aboriginal
Studies and History. During semesters Garry lived in Armidale, which enabled
him to attend classes on campus and access computer facilities, tutoring
and other services offered to him through Oorala Aboriginal Centre. He often
returned home to be with his family during his semester breaks, at times
assisting in the classroom at a local school or in other community roles.
Despite facing some difficult times which affected his family, Garry has
persevered to succeed in his studies with the wonderful encouragement and
support of his mother and other family members. During a recent break from
his studies, it was Garry's mother who reminded him of his great potential
for his community, giving him the drive to return to University and fulfil
his ambitions. Garry is now putting his learning
and his dreams into practice, by mentoring and tutoring Aboriginal students
at Greenhill near Kempsey.
On his graduation day, Garry celebrated his achievements
with his mother, other Aboriginal graduands, Oorala staff and friends. As
one of 16 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students graduating in UNE's
Spring ceremonies this year, Garry spoke about all the invaluable support
he had received, and the ongoing inspiration it gave him to support young
people in their education. When recognising
his mother's contribution to his achievements on his graduation day, Garry
also thanked Oorala for the Centre's assistance and advice provided to him
throughout his studies: "I'd like to thank all of the staff at Oorala,
from the bottom of my heart".