>> We are gathered here this evening to honour and celebrate the achievements of
our extraordinary alumni. This year as many of you know, we've celebrated 50
Years of Innovation, but can I thank all of our guests who are with us this
evening to celebrate the achievements of our 2017 Alumni Achievement Award winners.
>> Thank you very much. I am honoured and very humbled to accept
this award tonight. Curtin has and will always have a special place in my heart.
As the first in my extended family and as a kid from the country,
I still remember with fondness the welcome and support I got from the
Curtin community, when I turned up for my first day as an undergraduate and felt
totally overwhelmed by just the sheer scale of the university facilities. I am
delighted to continue to support Curtin today in my role as the patron for the
Women in MBA Scholarship Program. Can I take this moment to thank you all. I am
very honoured and can I wish you all a wonderful evening.
>> Right now, I am immersed in the implementation of the National
Disability Insurance Scheme. This is the most significant economic and social
reform since Medicare was introduced in the 1980's. I want to congratulate all the
award recipients, I look forward to hearing about your achievements and contributions
>> You may be surprised to learn it is not the recognition of
accomplishments in my field of endeavor that is important to me in receiving
this award, as those accomplishments have come with their own rewards already.
What is more important to me in receiving this acknowledgement, is the recognition
that I've strived to set a standard of excellence in my professional field,
the field of architecture and the built environment.
I thank Curtin University for this accolade, it is most humbling in
particular as it occurred in the fiftieth year celebrations, thank you very much.
>> Thank you very much. I would particularly like to thank the late great Adam
Neville who was a pillar in engineering who actually encouraged me to pursue a
PhD. The driving force for me to finish writing up my thesis was to not become a
statistic of a mature aged student who didn't manage to finish his longer
degree. So thank you very much Curtin Alumni, all involved. I'm really happy to
receive this award.
>> Thank you. First I have to thank the Curtin Alumni for selecting
me for this award. It is an honour to accept this award, particularly in the university's
50th year. I was in that first group of students that moved to the Bentley
campus. This award not only belongs to me, but it belongs to the Bentech family
who have supported me over the years. This voluntary support has been in the
form of fundraising, technical assistance and wading through all that red tape.
Again, I thank you sincerely for this award.
>> It looks like I'm standing in our office in West Perth right now, but actually I'm
in Cartagena, which is on the north of Colombia. I want to say thank you very
very much for this award and the honour, the Global Impact Award, from the Curtin
Alumni. It's a real validation to hear that kind of thing from the place where
Moodle started. And so we have actually many millions of people around the world
who use it, but also thousands of people who are actively engaged in improving it,
in spreading it and teaching about it, in helping other people use it and
that's really enabled Moodle to really have the impact that it has.
Thank you very much, I'm sorry I can't be there tonight, but I hope you have a good
evening and we'll see you around.
>> Distinguished guests, friends and family, thank you very much for this honour,
it really means a lot to be in the company of such esteemed guests and other
winners as well. Grandad, thank you so much for just instilling a sense of
leadership right from the get-go. You've been the patriarch of this family
and you've always instilled a sense of excellence and never, never stopped
anything short of your best. My dad really inspires me on the indigenous
business side. He studied an MBA at Curtin which is awesome, actually it was
very inspiring to have someone, and it's rare to have an indigenous person do an
MBA, so you've inspired me more than you probably know. And I'd like to thank
Hayley and the Curtin Leadership Centre for nominating me, thank you very much.
>> In 2014 a beautiful boy, the most perfect baby boy was born at my hospital. He was
full-term and his mum had had a very uneventful textbook pregnancy. She woke
up one morning with some blood loss, by the time she arrived at hospital her baby had
passed away. Lincoln John Cook was born to Shannon and James on the 29th of
August 2014 and he was divine. His short life has given so much and he truly is
the sole reason I am here today. Lincoln inspired me to fundraise for a cold
cuddle cot that I wanted to purchase for my hospital, just one. I started A Midwife's
Gift to raise the money, and now almost $100,000 and 19 cots later, we have
almost ensured that every WA maternity hospital has a cuddle cot available to
anyone who experiences the tragic loss of their baby. Thank you to Curtin for
this recognition and as always, a big thank you, love and hugs to Lincoln.
>> It's a real honour to be receiving this award tonight. I really want to take this
opportunity to encourage all of you all, to continue to stay engaged with the alumni
and your local chapters, because that's what alumni is all about, isn't it.
It's about proactive support and engagement by all of us.
>> More than those
that I can name in just one speech, have helped me along this yellow brick road
towards the goal of science education. They've made me a better educator and a
better person. One goes into education with the grandiose notion that you're
going to change the lives of children. But one discovers it's the children, the
other teachers and your professors, that end up changing you. Thank you Curtin
University, thank you Alumni Association and all those involved here tonight.
Because here in Perth, somewhere over that magical rainbow, dreams really can
come true. Mine certainly has tonight. Thank you.
>> 2017 has been a very significant
year for the University as we celebrated 50 Years of Innovation and I sincerely
thank all of our alumni, donors and other members of the Curtin community for the
incredible contributions that they have made to the anniversary and for the
continuing support that they continue to show Curtin. In closing, I would once again, like
to congratulate all of the award winners tonight for your amazing achievements and
wish your very well in your future endeavours. Thank you very much.