Fresh from the visit by Premier Peter Beattie last week, Bond is preparing to welcome two more VIPs on campus for its 48th Graduation Ceremony this Saturday.
Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Alexander Downer MP and Chairman of Ramsay Health Care Ltd and Prime Television Mr Paul Ramsay AO will be addressing students at Bond’s undergraduate and postgraduate graduation ceremonies respectively.
Vice-Chancellor of Bond University Professor Robert Stable said the University is increasingly becoming a destination for VIPs of this calibre, in what is “a tribute to the rising profile of the University”.
“It also upholds part of our promise to our students to give them access to Australian figureheads and key influencers through our established links with business and industry,” he said.
Valedictorian for the postgraduate ceremony Drew Blaxland will graduate from his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) with High Distinction on Saturday and says he is honoured to have been elected to be a part of the important tradition.
“I think it’s important in helping to galvanise or put into context the reasons why we have just put ourselves through the demanding task of postgraduate studies and where that effort will lead”, Mr Blaxland said.
“Our endeavours are not simply a matter of short and arduous course, but one of long term investment – and that is the message I want to convey to my fellow graduates on Saturday,” he said.
Being elected as Valedictorian is the icing on the cake for Mr Blaxland, who already has a string of achievements under his belt, including being part of the winning Bond MBA team that triumphed at Australia’s most prestigious Moot Corp competition - the John Heine Entrepreneurial Challenge – late last year year.
His 20 years’ of local and international business experience ranges from managing the infrastructure of the United Nations during the Bosnian war, to entrepreneurial ventures in Romania, to strategic planning within the New South Wales State government.
And if that wasn’t enough, he has also written a novel and has played in various bands both in Australia and around the world.
So, where to from here for a man who rightly declares the world is his oyster?
“The MBA has broadened my horizons. I’ll take some time now to sit back and consider all my options before making my next move.
“For me, 2006 is all about enjoying life's simplicities again,” Mr Blaxland said.