Shepparton grads shine at La Trobe ceremony

This year, La Trobe University celebrated three decades of its presence in Shepparton, a journey that began in 1994 with just 40 Commonwealth supported students.

Shepparton Head of Campus Elizabeth Capp highlighted the achievement of having one of the largest cohorts of Indigenous graduates to date, with six students celebrating their graduation.

“We know that the majority of graduates will stay in regional communities to live and work, and we are particularly proud to support students from diverse nationalities and cultures to study locally and contribute to thriving regional centres like Shepparton,” she said.

Among the graduates was Dr Yangama Jokwiro, originally from rural Zimbabwe, who moved to Australia in 2004.

Dr Jokwiro has made significant contributions to the nursing field, including developing an app to assist nurses in Zimbabwe and other southern African countries.

His thesis focused on stress conscience among nurses caring for older people with delirium.

“I wish to extend my studies to develop interventions that can assist nurses during their training to understand the complexities and realities of the working environment alongside their desires to provide patient-centred care,” Dr Jokwiro said.

Dr Jokwiro, who balanced full-time work with his studies, now serves as the Head of Rural Health Sciences at La Trobe University.

Hope Baumann, who graduated with a Bachelor of Early Childhood and Primary Education, was selected as the ceremony's graduate speaker for her academic excellence.

“As a mature aged student my working background was in childcare, so I chose to study education to upskill my qualifications,” she said.

She has since started a part-time primary teaching position in the Greater Shepparton region.