Thirty years after its opening, Bond University has become a family affair.
Children of the first graduating class are now attending the university which is throwing open its doors for an Open Day this Saturday, July 27.
Adam Smith was one of those who decided to keep it in the family by following in the footsteps of his mother Joanna, one of the pioneer students in 1989.
He is now in his first year of a law degree.
“I came to the main Open Day and also went to a film and television open day and a law open day,” Adam said.
“That helped make the decision to come here, gave me a chance to look around the campus and the clubs and see what it was all about.
“It is definitely useful to get a grip of what university life is all about.
“I love the small class sizes. You get to ask your teacher a lot of stuff and they know you really well.”
The Gold Coast campus -- which is celebrating three decades this year -- looks a lot different to when Joanna first started studying commerce as part of the first cohort of students.
Joanna went on to work on award-winning Australian television cult classic Water Rats and children’s show Johnson and Friends before travelling the world and returning to the Gold Coast.
“It was a big decision to come to Bond in the first class, but it was obviously the right one,” Joanna said.
“Being the first people here was very special and it brings back a lot of memories being here.”