Our Stories
Our Stories
Our Stories is a project for the 成人大片鈥檚 150th year, capturing the stories of our community 鈥 past and present 鈥 and celebrating the achievements and memories of people from all over the world who are connected to the University.
Dr Gavin Quek
In 2017, I left Malaysia to pursue a degree in Dentistry at the 成人大片, driven by a curiosity that had once frightened me.
Dr Sarah Cannard
It was an easy decision to study at the 成人大片 because Sir Andy Thomas, Australia鈥檚 first member of NASA鈥檚 elite astronaut corps, went there. I was following in the footsteps of one of my heroes.
My one-word for my university experience is "Adipoli", it means "splendid" in my language.
When I first came to Adelaide, I thought 鈥淚'm not gonna fit in this place鈥, however after visiting the hub central, I felt like this is some wonderland I have never experienced before. I joined every socials I could, LCE, YouX volunteering, YouX socials, Open Day Volunteering & Clubs, to make new friends, expand my network, develop my communication skills & to find the love of my life (though not been able to, found some sparks).
All these activities helped me to find out my dream job of becoming an economist, by securing me an internship at Adelaide Economic Development Agency. It's a famous saying, "you reap what you sow". In my case I would say Uni has helped me to reap more than I sowed. My learning curve just accelerated from 1-100, by having all the wonderful leadership opportunities such as being an International Student Ambassador, YouX casuals, Economics Club and WenSA committee member and with every opportunity University has provided for me.
Madhavi is completing her final semester of a Master of Applied Economics program, and also working part time as an academic tutor at the University.
Madhavi Kurumulath
Masters student and economist.
Current Masters student.
I attended [the 成人大片] from 1962-65 concurrently with attendance at the Adelaide Teachers鈥 College in Kintore Avenue. These years, with some hard work and many fond memories, shaped my career to become a secondary teacher with the state education department for the next 40 years.
Noel is now retired, and spends considerable voluntary time with St John Ambulance and the Order of Australia Association. He also enjoys regular social golf, travel and family time - especially with his grandsons and their soccer!
Noel Hender OAM BEM
Noel at the SA branch of the Order of Australia Association.
BA 1966.
My time at the 成人大片 was so fulfilling and it instilled the core value of life-long learning in me. I already have plans to come back to do another undergraduate degree just for the fun of it and to be immersed in the rich learning environment once again. One lecturer in Education is so memorable to me. She opened up my eyes to so much of our current and past political world and she taught me great foundational knowledge of Australia and the world's political and cultural approach. It was only the one postgraduate term-long course, but the topics covered in that class remain with me.
The skills I learnt help me to navigate politics and media with a critical lens on a daily basis. These skills also keep me in the conversation and help me decipher the news and world around me. I am so grateful I took that elective class and was lucky enough to be taught by Samantha.
Ella currently works at the 成人大片 in the Faculty of ABLE as a professional staff member, helping students with their enrolments, their degree progress, providing study advice and making meaningful connections with students.
Ella Butler
Alum and current staff member.
B Languages 2020, M Teaching (Middle and Secondary) 2022.
听
My most memorable lecturer was Fred Bloch (Accounting in first year), Geoffrey Harcourt (Macro-economics) and Ian McLean (Micro-economics). Fred Bloch was particularly entertaining, really making learning basic accounting principles entertaining. His "act" of wearing a different t-shirt every lecture up until the last lecture, when he proceeded to remove several layers of t-shirts to reveal his entire t-shirt wardrobe was particularly memorable.
My accounting studies in particular have stood me in good stead over the years, especially early on in my career when initially as station accountant on Kerry Packer's cattle station, Newcastle Waters, from 1985 to 1988, I was able to help the station manager in his efforts to acquire several more cattle and sheep stations to establish one of Australia's largest pastoral operations. In 1988 I was promoted to Consolidated Press's Sydney head office as a result, where I helped design and implement a management information system for the company's global operation just a few years out of Adelaide University, as well as modelling the "buy-back" of the channel Nine Network.
After several years with Consolidate Press Holdings, where he was ultimately Supervising Investment Analyst from 1988 to 1991, Michael moved to Perth in 1992 where he worked for a number of mining services companies in Financial Controller and CFO rolls before taking on the role of CFO of the ASX listed mineral exploration company Magmatic Resources Limited in 2019.
Michael Franklin
B Ec 1985.
Share your stories
Our 160,000+ alumni are found right across the globe and in all walks of life. Whether you鈥檙e a member of staff, student, alumni, researcher or partner, we want to hear how your connection with the University (past or present) has made a difference!
In 200 words or fewer, share your memories of the 成人大片 and what impact your time here had on your history. An image or a short video or audio message may also be uploaded. Shared stories may be published digitally and/or in print.