Queensland College of Art graduates Jenna Lee and Rachael Sarra are stepping into the spotlight with new work that celebrates their culture and challenges preconceived notions about Aboriginal art.
The close friends and former classmates produce thought-provoking works that span painting, printmaking, sculpture, jewellery and fashion – and the art world is taking notice.
Connecting to culture
Rachael is making waves on the local art scene. Her work was recently projected onto the William Jolly Bridge as part of the Brisbane Art Design Festival and can be seen on Brisbane City Council buses to celebrate NAIDOC Week.
A proud Goreng Goreng woman, Rachael uses her work as a way to connect with her culture.
“My work really celebrates my cultural background – Aboriginal people have always been very artistic, and we share our culture through art and storytelling,” she said.
“I grew up off country, but I’m still connecting with it and exploring my identity.
“I’ve always known about my heritage and celebrated it and I’m starting to learn more about the language and customs.”
Creative entrepreneur
Rachael has just launched her own business – Sar.ra – creating fashion, jewellery and stationery featuring her paintings and prints.
“For a long time I didn’t even have a website – I would just post stuff on Instagram, and it was easy for people to connect to my work,” she said.
“I always wanted to run my own company, and it looks like it’s all happened overnight, but it’s been a long journey.
“I worked for design agencies like Carbon Creative and Gilimbaa before I stepped out on my own, and I learned a lot along the way about bringing together creative and business sides.”
“I love doing something different every day – this allows me to bring together my passion for art, fashion and design.”
Rachael’s work will be showcased later this month at Open House, a new gallery space in Fortitude Valley for Indigenous artists.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity -I’m excited to step out on my own and figure out what I want to say,” she said.
“I think of my art as providing an optimistic conversation that shifts people’s perspectives on Aboriginal culture and art.
“I love using bright, high energy colours and my work seems to have a way of drawing people in.
Rachael, who graduated with a Bachelor of Design in 2013, said her time at the QCA had taught her that art could be a powerful force for change in society.
“Looking back at my time at the QCA, it was phenomenal,” she said.
“I don’t think I’d really considered the power of my culture before I went to uni, and I learned so much about socially responsible design, and how to be a positive force creatively.
“Art and design are such powerful tools and a strong vehicle for change.”
Art and identity
Fellow QCA graduate Jenna Lee is a mixed race Larrakia, Wardaman and Karajarri woman whose art explores cultural identity and language. She recently won the Dreaming Award at this year’s National Indigenous Art Awards, which recognises outstanding emerging artists.
“I’ve spent the past decade working as a commercial artist and designer, so it is amazing to be recognised for my personal artistic practice,” she said.
“I’m a queer, mixed race, Asian, Aboriginal woman and my work is an outlet to explore all of those overlapping identities.”
Jenna is using the $20,000 prize money from the National Indigenous Art Awards to undertake a research project in the UK.
She is working with a collection of Aboriginal artefacts at the renowned Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, which will inspire a series of new artistic works – a process she calls “artistic repatriation”.
“These objects were taken long ago, and are now sitting in boxes and drawers thousands of miles away,” she said.
“By allowing artists to respond to these objects, they are given new life.”
The project will culminate in a group show at the Museum of Brisbane, curated by Jenna and featuring work by a group of young, Indigenous artists from around Brisbane.
“I’m hoping to link three other young, female Indigenous artists to their ancestral objects, currently held in museums in the UK and Australia,” she said.
“It will be my first time as artist-curator. I like the idea of collaborating with other artists and sharing my research.”
National recognition
Jenna was recently a finalist in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award and the John Fries Award. Alongside her burgeoning art practice, she has also carved out a successful career as a designer with Indigenous creative agency Gilimbaa.
Jenna interned at Gilimbaa while completing her studies at the QCA, and she has worked her way up to a senior designer role. As part of her work at the agency, Jenna’s designs were incorporated into the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Australian team uniforms — an experience she describes as “mind blowing”.
“They chose elements of my artworks to feature on the uniforms worn by athletes and volunteers, and they also reproduced the artwork on a lapel pin and special collectable coin produced by the Royal Australian Mint.
“I was blown away – it was a massive opportunity for me.”
She credits her studies at the QCA for teaching her to dream big.
“The degree at the QCA had a big focus on socially responsible design,” she said.
“My time there really shaped my thinking about how art and design can make a positive contribution.”
Recently Griffith University farewelled a group of remarkable individuals from PNG who have been in Australia since January undergoing a Graduate Certificate in Counselling and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment through the Australian Government funded Australia Awards PNG program.
Professor Hamish McCallum is internationally recognised for his work on infectious diseases in free ranging wildlife and was last night honoured for his contribution with the Excellence in Research Leadership award.
Professor McCallum’s core research area is disease ecology — which takes the principals of ecology and applies them to managing and understanding infectious diseases within humans and wildlife.
Professor Hamish McCallum
Since taking up the helm as Head of School of Environment nearly a decade ago, Professor McCallum has developed an extensive research program investigating infectious diseases in conservation biology and in zoonotic infections. Professor McCallum led an international Hendra virus program project funded from 2012-2016 and is the lead researcher into Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease since 2006.
Professor McCallum heads up the research theme Planetary Health within the Environmental Futures Research Institute and also successfully developed a US National Science Foundation grant, of which the project gains an understanding of the evolution of cancer.
Excellence in an Early Career Researcher
The Excellence in an Early Career Researcher cements Dr Lee Morgenbesser’s reputation as one of Australia’s leading young political scientists.
Dr Lee Morgenbesser receives his Early Career Research Award.
In 2018, he began his current position as an ARC Discovery Early Career Award where he published a further four journal articles and presented at 12 invited talks and one conference, and also won the Griffith Business School Research Excellence Award for the Early Career Researcher.
Excellence of an Individual Mid-Career Researcher
The high-calibreof mid-career researchers meant not one, but two awards were given out for the category of Individual Mid-Career Researcher.
Her greatest contribution is to the understanding of the development of antisocial behavior and offending over the lifetime and her research was the first to show many people who are first detected by the criminal justice system as adults have offended previously without being caught.
Associate Professor Jun Zhuo and Associate Professor Tara McGee receive their Mid Career Research Awards.
Associate Professor Zhou is a leading researcher in hyperspectral imaging, pattern recognition and machine learning that can be used in agriculture, medicine and environmental monitoring.
The research contributes to tasks such as monitoring the growth stage of bay lobsters and early crop disease detection. He is chief investigator on the ARC Linkage Project on “Precise recognition for automated harvesting and grading of strawberries.”
She has not only supervised seven PhD completions in the last four years, but meets weekly with PhD students, encouraging and assisting them to present their work at both national and international conferences and publishing in high quality journals.
Professor Selvanathan is a Higher Degree Research (HDR) convenor and has organized symposiums, helped junior academic staff take on co-supervision with accredited staff and organized a Statistics and Research Design Support training for HDR students.
Professor Seroja Selvanathan receives the Research Supervision Award.
Between 25-50 per cent of devices used to access veins and arteries for medical treatment fail annually from complications such as infection, vein damage and accident dislodgement.
AVATAR’s vision is to make vascular access complications history by eliminating ineffective healthcare practices and replace them innovative solutions, in turn providing patients with better healthcare and saving healthcare providers billions of dollars.
Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research Award – Menzies Health Institute of Queensland.
By Jovana Mastilovic Griffith Law School
In November 2018, Soumi Gopalakrishnan shared her story with the ABC.[1] Despite graduating Year 12 top of her school and receiving the Dux Award at Brisbane’s St James College, her prospects of attending University were slim. As a Sri Lankan Tamil who arrived in Australia by boat four years prior, Soumi, like other people seeking asylum, was subject to international University fees ranging up to $100,000 a year.[2] In addition, people seeking asylum are not eligible for government loans and support (HECS-HELP) and fees must be paid upfront. Despite aspirations of one day becoming a doctor, Soumi’s fate appeared to lay working in a stationary factory, just like her two elder sisters.
Historically, Universities have always used innovative ways of advocating and ensuring people from all backgrounds pursue their right to education and safety. Universities have courageously modelled communities of resistance and protection[3] and students have been at the front-line in struggles for progressive change.[4] Universities represent places of hope, safe-havens, and opportunities for students from all backgrounds.
In 2016, nearly 30[5] Universities across the United States (US) declared themselves as Campuses offering Sanctuary — much like sanctuary cities.[6] The concept of sanctuary dates back to medieval England and represents a moral and legal obligation to protect those who are vulnerable.[7] Despite Universities being legally restricted in preventing their students from being deported, actions taken on behalf of Universities in the US to support their students, regardless of their immigration status, ranged from not sharing the immigration status of their students with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),[8] providing confidential legal advice, distance learning, tuition support (including in-state tuition rates),[9] expanding on-campus services such as medical care,[10] and not allowing ICE officers on campus without a warrant.
St James College, Soumi’s school in Brisbane, waives school fees for families seeking asylum and so they did not ask Soumi and her siblings to pay school fees. The school even provided them with Go-cards to enable them to travel to school. Gerry Crooks, the principal of St James College said, ‘I think they’ve given the school far more than we could ever give them as a family.’[11] Providing people who have been made most vulnerable in communities with access to education, benefits not only those who gain access to education, but also the wider community. Research conducted by Members of the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (SIG),[12] determined that education is widely acknowledged as an essential factor in ensuring social inclusion and the formation of human capital.[13]
There are approximately 30,000[14] people seeking asylum in Australia. Some of these people have been living on temporary visas for more than six years, in constant fear they will be deported, and with minimal support to maintain their livelihoods. Despite this, as Soumi has shown, people persist and are able to somehow manage, utilising everything they have and often making large sacrifices to ensure they receive an education. However, access to higher education proves nearly impossible.
According to the Refugee Council of Australia, only Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology and the University of the Sunshine Coast offer scholarships for people seeking asylum or refugees in Queensland.[15] These scholarships provide an opportunity for only a very limited number of people and opportunities in Queensland remain fewer than in other Australian states such as Victoria, New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory.
Universities need to do more[16] to support refugee students as well as people seeking asylum; as St James College Principal said, ‘[Universities] have an obligation[17] to offer opportunities for these young people, because Australia’s going to benefit in the long run anyway.’ The story of Soumi is an enlightening one, as following the traction of her ABC story, University offers flooded[18] in. In March 2019, she attended her first University lecture for the degree of a Bachelor of Health Science in Canberra.[19] However, as Soumi says, ‘changing one life isn’t enough’[20] and ‘there are so many other students who are in the same position as me.’[21]
Indeed, in Australia, there are approximately 2,668[22] children seeking asylum and globally, the number of displaced people is only rising.[23] Children make up more than half[24] of the world’s refugees and Universities can, should,[25] and need to do more to offer sanctuary to people fleeing persecution.
Jovana Mastilovic is a PhD student at Griffith Law School researching the European Union response to people seeking asylum since 2015.[26] Views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organisation, committee or other group or individual.
Griffith Occupational Therapy student and arguably Australia’s fastest racewalker at the moment, Katie Hayward, is counting down to the start of the 20km walk at the World University Games in Italy.
The 18 year old readily admits her preparation has been better than expected and with the Tokyo Olympics just around the corner she has all but secured her spot on the Australian team.
“I haven’t missed one session, I’m not even exaggerating. It’s been a great preparation,” she said before flying out to Naples in Italy.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything more. The competition times that I have been doing in races have been really shocking for me.
“I came first in Sydney at Australian open national titles in 10km there, (which was) a meet record and early in February I broke the under 20’s 20km record and won the opens and became the fastest Aussie on home soil to do that. So, it’s been a very exciting year!”
Katie’s looking forward to the World Uni Games for several reasons, but most important of which is the fact it is the closest experience to an Olympic Games an athlete can have.
“All the athletes I have talked to say it’s practically just under an Olympics games,” she said.
“You’ve got your athletes village and you’ve got multiple sports, you’ve got swimming and gymnastics, rugby, volleyball, all the sports so it’s a whole experience like the Olympic games.
“So as much as I want to go out and do well, it’s the experience (I’m excited about), if I do get selected for the Olympics I know what to expect.”
Olympic gold medallist and Griffith Sports College Manager, Naomi McCarthy OAM
Its a sentiment echoed by Griffith Sports College Manager and Olympic Gold medallist herself Naomi McCarthy OAM, who says Katie is in top form.
“It is well recognised that this is one of the few multi sport events that simulates or represents what it is like in an Olympic games village…. and those athletes selected are all developing athletes looking to go on to Olympic games representation,” said Naomi.
“The College has been really excited to help her and watch her develop from a junior athlete into the country’s number 1 senior race walker.
“She’s had an absolute breakout year. She has surprised herself with how well she has gone.”
Olympic selections are announced next February and Katie says while that is top of mind, she’s also mindful of her study commitments and the importance of taking time out as well.
“As athletes we are not robots, we need to recharge and reset. can’t just keep going. Its not just the body its also mental.”
Currently in her second year of Occupational Therapy, Griffith Sports College helped Katie navigate an individualised path allowing her the time to train and compete and study.
She’ll complete second and third years part-time but remains committed to her course of study, because more than anyone, she knows how it feels when you can’t do what you want to.
“Four years ago I had a major stress fracture where I was out for a couple of months, well 6 months from my sport.
“When you stop doing what you love so much, it really makes a person feel down. And so when I see people out in the world that might have had a stroke or something has happened in their lives ….. I can relate to that…I want to help people because I know what it feels to not be able to do what you want to do in your lives. And I know how much it means to them.”
Other Griffith athletes joining Katie in Naples include sprinter Riley Day, discus thrower Matthew Denny and swimmers Grayson Bell, Charles Cox, Chelsea Hodges, Tristan Ludlow, Mikayla Messer, Joshua Parrish and Alice Stuart. Jessica Borg and Presley Johnson will compete in taekwondo and Sophie Milliken in water polo.
“We are very pleased with the number of athletes that have achieved representation,” said Naomi McCarthy.
“A lot of athletes have been working very hard to make this team.”
When Keely Houghton first began her internship at YCL Jewels she was just hoping to get some experience in a marketing role. What she ended up with was credit towards her degree and a portfolio of experience that would help her land her first marketing job before she even graduated.
“I’ve been offered a marketing co-ordinator position at a place called PLB Group–a restaurant and entertainment group with four restaurants in northern NSW,” Keely says. The Bachelor of Business student is thrilled with the position because even though she doesn’t graduate until the end of 2019, the business was so impressed with her they offered her the option of being part time until she completes her qualification.
Keely puts her new employment down to the internship she did under the Griffith University Work-Integrated Learning program. “If I hadn’t had my internship experience, I wouldn’t have felt confident enough to apply,” she says. “Having that practical marketing experience on my resume definitely helped me get the job.”
Initially the student had sought out an internship under her own steam, and was drawn to the business YCL Jewels via their Instagram page. She wrote to the business, asking if they were looking for interns and expressing interest.
She then applied for the internship to be considered as a course requirement and Griffith were happy to oblige. “I felt like being in a small business would be most beneficial to me,” Keely explains. “I could have a big impact and see my ideas implemented.” Which is exactly what happened, with several of Keely’s brand engagement ideas being implemented by business owner Fabienne Costa shortly after she started.
Keely Houghton with Fabienne Costa, creator of YCL Jewels.
“There was something about Keely that really stood out to me,” Fabienne says, explaining she’d had others contact her about internships but hadn’t been compelled to hire one until Keely. “She came in to her interview with this incredible proposal about giveaways which showed me she had really researched what we were doing in terms of social media marketing. She knew all about the brand, our tagline, what she gathered to be our target demographic. I was really impressed.”
And Keely was over the moon to see so many of her ideas come to fruition. “I think it’s a big confidence booster to know that what I am doing is being heard and adding value to the business. Being here at YCL Jewels and having my ideas implemented actually has grown my passion for marketing and it’s cemented the fact that I want to do marketing as a career.”
One of the reasons Keely was drawn to working with YCL Jewels was the fact that they aligned with her own personal values of ethical standards and sustainability. “As a brand, YCL Jewels try to do whatever they can to be sustainable and ethically conscious with minimal packaging and compostable bags… their manufacturing processes are 100 per cent transparent, you can see everything online. They know that their standards in where their jewellery is being manufactured is ethical and sustainable and they are not having an impact on the environment. That’s something that really resonated with me.”
She says she developed a keen sense of social responsibility as a result of studying at Griffith University. “My time at Griffith and the courses I did definitely started my want for an ethical workplace. I have a strong passion for ethical businesses and working to be more sustainable in my everyday life as well as the place I work. I know Griffith had an impact on that. I did a few electives that made me aware of the ethical responsibility that companies should have and it’s been so great to work for someone who does that.”
Fabienne says that as an employer, having Keely on board as part of her university studies really helped the process. “Knowing that Griffith is open to allowing their students to work with small business is so impressive and amazing,” the creator, who started her business when she was just 21, says. “I didn’t even know that was an option as a small business and entrepreneur, and it’s great because in terms of the future of the workplace, there is so much about small business that is leading the way and innovating for larger organisations, which is great for students.
“I think that was really wonderful to see the amount of support Keely got from Griffith. I think that’s a big reason why she has thrived here the way that she has.”
While presentations of adults suffering stroke increased by more than 50% in a Queensland emergency department over a five-year period, new research has found that there were significant improvements in time performance measures.
In conjunction with Gold Coast Health, Griffith University researchers found multiple time targets improved in the ED, despite a 51.4% rise in patients presenting with stroke.
Stroke is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, and places high demands onEDs.
The aim of the study was to evaluate stroke presentations in terms of demographics and time performance measures over a five-year period.
Prof Crilly said an increased awareness of stroke symptoms and the introduction of a new stroke code introduced during the study period, likely support the time performance improvements found in the study.
“The evolution of the Stroke code in ED was primarily due to our Neurology Service and ED team collaborating to identify patients with stroke who may benefit from early intervention,” Gold Coast Health’s Dr Bills added.
“This multidisciplinary approach and early involvement of the Neurologist in decision making in conjunction with the emergency team providing supportive care seems to have the desired effect on reducing emergency department length of stay.”
“Having therapies and treatments readily available can make a difference to patient outcomes. Before that though, we need to have processes in place that enable clinicians to assess and diagnose patients with stroke early, so that the most appropriate care can be delivered in the most appropriate environment.”
DrBernaitisbased her PhD on the study to better inform stroke patient care in AustralianEDs.
“Despite the increasing demand on ED and the time critical nature of stroke presentations, there is limited current data on stroke presentations to Australian EDs,” DrBernaitissaid.
“There is a lack of information on the number of stroke presentations to EDs over recent years, the type of stroke (ischaemicor clots; andhaemorrhagicor bleeds) and patient and health service outcomes such as timeliness of care to these patients.
“We looked at what happened to the patients once they arrived at the ED; it’s one thing torecognisea stroke in the ED but there are different presentations of stroke. “Better timing in the ED can relate to better outcomes, like treatment in the ward or shorter length of stay in hospital then rehabilitation.”
The study examined the median length of stay in the ED forhaemorrhagicandischaemicstroke presentations in the ED and found that these outcomes significantly decreased by nearly half, from 435 to 215 minutes and 451 to 238 minutes respectively.
The time it took to see a doctor according to triage priority also steadily decreased.
“Although there’s some emerging evidence around in terms of improving practices in the ED for patient with stroke, there’s definitely an impetus to having and further understanding the processes that are put in place,” DrBernaitissaid.
“This work provides a foundation of understanding and awareness of the issue, and the importance and some of the outcomes that can arise from stroke. It didn’t specifically evaluate the stroke code but that could be a next step.”
A/ProfDukiesaid the collaborative study highlighted success in conducting multidisciplinary research between the university and GCUH that has an impact.
Twenty years ago, Griffith University alumnus Martin Pratley never imagined he would spend his days creating musical instruments for the likes of Australian music legends John Butler and Tash Sultana.
Martin was studying a Bachelor of Design and Technology at Griffith’s Mount Gravatt campus, when he started an ambitious project in his spare time, using his design skills to build a travel guitar.
“I was writing a lot of songs (during the first year of university) and playing gigs around Brisbane, but when I went camping, or on one of many east coast surf trips, I had to leave my guitars behind,” Martin said.
“I decided to design a special type of acoustic guitar for travel.”
Martin said his project guitar became the final assessment piece of his degree, and delivered a high distinction and attention from local media.
“This success and media attention made me think that my guitar making dream could come true.”
He said he started to play guitar when he was 12 years old and grew up making things and taking things apart to see how they worked.
These were passions that would see him through to becoming a luthier (someone who builds or repairs string instruments)and start to build a musical empire, with his Gold Coast based business Pratley Guitars and Percussion.
Martin has made guitars and stomp boxes for music icons from John Butler and Tash Sultana, to The Amity Affliction, Dead Letter Circus and actor Ray Stevenson – just to name a few.
He said has always enjoyed building things but creating instruments brought him a deeper sense of achievement.
“It’s a feeling of great satisfaction to create a beautiful dining table or chair but to design and craft the most exotic woods into an instrument that has its own voice is deeply fulfilling.”
Griffith Business School has once again showcased our remarkable talent with the reveal of the recipients of theOutstanding Alumni Awards for 2019. From managing a global hotel empire, to transforming the Scandinavian loan industry, each of the winners represents the impressive heights that can be reached after graduating with a Griffith Business School degree.
In a year that produced a particularly strong and competitive cohort, four alumni have been chosen as the best and brightest of the remarkable field of graduates. The four individuals, Dr Jennifer Cronin, Dr Kerry Bodle, Sabrina Aripen and Jacob Hansen Karadumen will go on to represent the Business School at the University-wide Outstanding Alumni Awards Gala, to be held in September.
Dr Jennifer Cronin.
Outstanding Alumnus Award: Dr Jennifer Cronin
Hotel openings, cybersecurity and architectural blueprints are a few of the daily items on the agenda for Dr Jennifer Cronin, president of Wharf Hotels. Her 35 years of industry experience and intimate knowledge of hotel operations from her early career, help her to navigate the dynamic and complex nature of decision-making in her position.
For Dr Cronin, one of the many perks of operating in China’s booming 24/7 hotel sector is the fast pace and diversity, which has taken her to almost every corner of the globe.
Dr Cronin’s desire to pursue a career in Asia stemmed from a high school exchange she attended. She then went on to find a university degree that would facilitate her aspirations. “Australians were not doing Asian languages in a big way then,” she says. “Griffith’s School of Modern Asian Studies was the cutting-edge learning institute for Japanese language at the time.
Beginning her career as a room service waitress, Dr Cronin has worked her way through the business, learning all about hotel operations before becoming a sales manager at Conrad Jupiters Hotel and Casino on the Gold Coast.
Realising she would need a business degree to move into senior management, Dr Cronin studied a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Bond University. The hard work paid off, and in 1995 Dr Cronin was appointed general manager of the Kooralbyn Hotel Resort.
Having steered through several downturns in various hotels due to global events and political upheaval, Dr Cronin sought to bolster her experience with a PhD in hotel crisis management.
At Wharf Hotels, Dr Cronin puts her background and knowledge to good use and hopes to one day do the same in Australia.
In addition to her impressive work in the hotel sector, Dr Cronin believes in the importance of nurturing young talent and ensures she passes on her skills through mentoring in her leadership positions. She also takes an active interest at Griffith, where she sits on business advisory boards and has also taught entrepreneurship at the University.
Her achievements were recently recognised when she received the APacCHRIE (Asia Pacific Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education) Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the first woman and non-Asia Pacific national to receive this prestigious award.
Dr Cronin credits Griffith Business School with laying the groundwork on which she has built an incredibly successful career. “It was very formative in setting my expectations of what life would be beyond the academic world,” she says. “It gave me a background in language and economics, and was a bridge between my cultural understanding of Japan and long-term goal to work in Asia.
“Never would I have dreamed my university studies would have taken me to the level I am now.”
Dr Kerry Bodle.
Outstanding First Peoples Alumnus Award: Dr Kerry Bodle
Dr Kerry Bodle is a descendant of Karendali (Thargomindah), Kalali (Conbar Outstation) and Waka Waka (Cherbourg) First Nation Peoples.
At the age of 38, Kerry completed her Bachelor of Business degree at Griffith University and went on to complete her Honours in 2003. It was during her Honours courses that she developed a good understanding and passion for undertaking research, leading her to enrol in a doctorate degree, whilst working as a tutor for Griffith’s Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics.
Kerry’s career has continued at Griffith University, where she has used her self-proclaimed ‘accidental academic’ status to establish relationships with industry and government departments which support the importance of increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s participation in business education, research, engagement and employment.
Her plethora of professional achievements is intrinsically linked to her passion of engaging students in authentic and meaningful ways to develop their cultural competency. One such achievement is her national recognition as the first Level B accounting academic to win a prestigious ARC Indigenous Discovery Grant. Most recently, Dr Bodle has been appointed as the Griffith Business School Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Academic Director.
Her community-based roles in addition to Accounting, Finance, and Economics academia include: Griffith Business School Pro Vice Chancellor’s nominated Equity Champion, Reconciliation Action Plan champion, First Peoples Employment Working Group, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council, Certified Practising Accountants of Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ), and Indigenous Accountants Australia (IAA).
Dr Bodle has established herself as a prominent and highly respected First People’s advocate who is regularly called upon to speak on Indigenous issues within the accounting and financial services industries. Her contributions to Indigenous knowledge increasingly influence industry professionals, government policy-makers and educators around Australia.
Jacob Hansen Karaduman.
Outstanding International Alumnus Award: Jacob Hansen Karaduman
In the seven short years since Jacob Hansen Karaduman graduated from Griffith University, he has already been acknowledged by his peers as the key driving force behind the transformation of the Scandinavian loan industryâ –a feat that most would consider impossible to achieve in one of the most traditional and complex finance markets.
Upon graduating from Griffith, Jacob joined Advisa, a Swedish loan brokerage firm, in an entry-level role, where he was to make roughly 200 cold calls per day. Six months into the role, he launched a new department which introduced new revenue-generating business verticals, as well as new approaches to handling customer enquiries.
Not satisfied with the level of improvements for the end consumer, Jacob expressed his desire to turn the entire industry upside down by democratising the loan application process, saving money for millions of Scandinavian people, and developing a new career path for Millennial’s. A natural leader with an obsession to get to the root cause of an issue or opportunity, Jacob quickly rallied three other professionals and together in 2014, they launched the loan marketplace platform Enklare. Today, Enklare serves as the third largest and most successful loan marketplace platform, has employed over 500 youths, and has disrupted an industry mired in red tape, complexity, and information disparity. Due to Jacob’s operational, managerial, and growth/scaling excellence, he is now highly sought after as a judge and mentor for some of the world’s most prestigious startup and business plan competitions, including but not limited to Rice Business Plan Competition and Princeton Tiger Launch.
Mr Karaduman has also played a formidable role in shaping his colleagues’ professional outlooks, something he continues to do naturally not only for his 140+ employees at Enklare, but for emerging startups, organisations, and communities.
Sabrina Aripen.
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award: Sabrina Aripen
Sabrina Melisa Aripen is the founder and chairperson of Society for Equality, Respect And Trust for All (SERATA), a nonprofit organisation based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. SERATA works to dismantle long-held socially constructed gender roles and promote gender equality by engaging men and boys in partnership with women and girls.
Her career shift from commerce to gender equality advocacy began in 2010, when she organised a ‘White Ribbon Day’ to raise awareness on the prevalence of violence against women. During her event campaign, she rallied seven local men to join her advocacy by becoming White Ribbon Ambassadors and over the next four years immersed herself in a variety of organisations to help marginalised women and children.
The defining moment of Sabrina’s career occurred during her time as a Community Solutions Program Fellow in San Francisco. She made a startling discovery on what could be the root cause of the gender gap in employment at her home country, Malaysia. While assisting her host organisation advocate for paid parental leave for all working people in the United States, she noticed that Malaysia only offered maternity leave under the Labour Law and is silent on the topic of paternity leave. Ms Aripen identified this to be a strong indicator of gender stereotypes and a deep-seated cultural expectation that women are solely responsible for raising children. Observing this gap and doing her own research, led to Sabrina founding SERATA.
Sabrina’s life work is now centred around changing the perceptions and expectations of parental care in Malaysia. In addition to her organisational work, she has written several articles championing the role of fathers in families, linking this to increasing the representation of women in the workforce and beyond.
In recognition of her work on gender equality, Sabrina was awarded the 2018 ‘Community Achievement Award’ by the Malaysian Australian Alumni Council.
Image courtesy of Ludo Studio
The team of Griffith alumni behind the hit series Bluey have had a massive week – winning a Logie award and reaching 100 million plays on ABC iView.
Created by Griffith Film School alumnus Joe Brumm, Bluey has proved wildly popular with families across the nation, becoming the ABC’s most watched show ever.
The show won Most Outstanding Children’s Program at the Logie Awards this week, and Joe thanked the series legions of fans in his acceptance speech.
Image courtesy of Ludo Studio.
“A massive thank you to the Bluey fans who have really taken this show to their hearts,” he said.
The series is produced by Emmy award-winning Ludo Studio, co-founded by fellow Griffith Film School alumnus Daley Pearson, and the show employs scores of Griffith animation graduates.
The creative team recently inked a deal with Disney Junior and Disney+ that will see the show go global. They have partnered with Moose Toys to produce a range of books and toys and are also in discussions to create a live play based on the show.
Daley recently told Sky News that the team were determined to make sure the show stayed true to its roots.
“This is definitely the biggest thing that’s happened to any of us, but we want everything that goes out to be as good as the show,” he said.
“It’s about following our natural instincts that made the show a success in the first place.”
Bluey creator Joe Brumm
Joe Brumm, who previously worked on BAFTA-award winning kids shows Charlie and Lola and Peppa Pig, created Bluey after watching his daughters at play.
“It’s fascinating seeing how much they learn from devising and playing their own games. Bluey is a celebration of the role imaginative play has in shaping healthy kids,” he said.
As creator and showrunner, Joe wanted to ground the universal themes of family and fun in a recognisably Australian setting.
“We are making this series right here in Brisbane with local animators and actors, so I wanted that reflected on screen – we’ve included Queenslanders, hilly suburban streets, backyard swimming pools,” he said.
Joe graduated in 1998 with a Bachelor of Animation (Honours) and worked in London for a decade before returning home and establishing his own production company, Studio Joho.
Bluey EP Daley Pearson
For Bluey, Joe teamed up with Ludo Studio — co-founded in 2012 by fellow Griffith Film School alumnus Daley Pearson, who helped create the Emmy-award winning kids series Doodles.
Ludo’s ethos is simple: ‘create locally, screen globally’. This is evident in the amount of local talent working behind the scenes — including more than 20 Griffith Film School animation graduates.
Daley, who is Executive Producer on Bluey, said the team had done a “fantastic job”.
“Joe and more than 50 Queensland animators, designers, sound and production talent are doing an incredible job,” he said.
“These artists have taken everything beautiful about Brisbane and put it on the screen to make a truly Australian show.”
Dr Peter Moyes
Griffith Film School Animation Program director Dr Peter Moyes said local graduates made up more than half of the workforce on Bluey.
“Fifty per cent of people employed on this project are new graduates from Griffith Film School,” he said.
“For a long time there were only a couple of animation studios in Brisbane, but there has been a real upsurge in the industry, with a dedicated children’s channel on the ABC and streaming services like Netflix and Stan.
“The course at GFS attracts people who have a genuine desire to go into this industry, and they are surrounded by other people who feel the same.
“It’s a bonus that people can stay in Brisbane and find meaningful work in the industry.”
The 18 year old readily admits her preparation has been better than expected and with the Tokyo Olympics just around the corner she has all but secured her spot on the Australian team.
“I came first in Sydney at Australian open national titles in 10km there, (which was) a meet record and early in February I broke the under 20’s 20km record and won the opens and became the fastest Aussie on home soil to do that. So, it’s been a very exciting year!”
Currently in her second year of Occupational Therapy, Griffith Sports College helped Katie navigate an individualised path allowing her the time to train and compete and study.
“Four years ago I had a major stress fracture where I was out for a couple of months, well 6 months from my sport.
