It is with great pleasure that throughout May we were able to honour a total of 334 ACAP graduates in beautiful ceremonies across the East Coast!
ACAP CEO George Garrop said:
"These events are wonderful occasions in our graduands' lives, representing the culmination of their great commitment, effort and dedication to open their minds. In particular, amid another year of covid disruptions, these graduates really should be immensely proud of themselves, as we at ACAP are to have been able to support them".
The first of our 2022 ceremonies took place in Sydney at the Wesley Conference Centre on May 6, with around 500 guests gathered to celebrate the achievements of 214 students. Guest speaker Mahalia Scholz, School Wellbeing Consultant, Centacare South West, outlined the importance of connection and emphasised in her speech the meaningful roles the graduates will go on to fill in society.
Sonal Joshi, DUX Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science award recipient spoke on behalf of all graduands with both humour and sincerity, thanking the ACAP team for their support and congratulating the graduands on their decision to commit to facilitate healing in others.
“Our ears and empathy have never been more necessary,” she said.
In Melbourne, over 280 guests came together to celebrate the graduation of 93 ACAP students at Melbourne Town Hall on May 11. Lucy Schulz, Navitas Executive General Manager – Human Services, Business and Technology, attended the ceremony and spoke on behalf of ACAP CEO George Garrop.
Jacqueline Harley, DUX Bachelor of Criminology and Justice spoke on behalf of all the Melbourne graduands, describing the resilience, confidence and strength they have each built during their study with ACAP.
"Our journey to this ceremony has been unique for each of us, yet we are all bound by the same passion – the pursuit of knowledge, eager to make a difference," she said.
We thank Professor Lisa Brophy, Professor and Discipline Lead in Social Work and Social Policy at La Trobe University/Honorary Principal Research Fellow in the Centre for Mental Health in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, for joining us as guest speaker.
Meanwhile, ACAP Brisbane campus celebrated the graduation of 27 students, with 70 guests in attendance. Guest speaker Slaven Drinovac, President of ICF Queensland and Managing Director of Coaching Centre delivered a motivating speech, and we thank him for joining us.
Kelly Goey spoke on behalf of graduands and described her journey back to studying after a 30-year break. Reflecting on her first tutorial, she said: “I made It through that tutorial, and all the other ones, thanks to the kind and engaging environment set by our teachers. The initial sense of wanting to run away and hide quickly gave way to the thrill of finally doing what I’ve wanted to be doing for so long.”
"The abundance of support at ACAP helped me to find my feet and get the cogs turning after so long away from studying".
On behalf of the entire ACAP community, we wish all graduates our heartfelt congratulations on their wonderful achievements and well-deserved success. May you take pride in how far you have come and have faith in how far you will go!