When I was an RMIT student I missed both my Bachelor and Master’s degree graduations from being overseas ski racing so it was an absolute privilage to be invited along to the 2016 RMIT Graduation as an alumni.

My RMIT family have been just as supportive to me as an alumni as when I was a student and this year they wanted to recognise their Paralympic and Olympic athletes at the ceremony. It was an absolute honour to be asked to speak on behalf of RMIT’s elite athletes to the 40,000 + people in attendance on the revolving stage at Ethiad stadium!

It was a brillant chance for me to look back and reflect on my time as a student at RMIT, how my jounrye began and where it has lead me. It was incredibly important for me to acknowledge the RMIT Graduates and share that there journey to graduation was not so different than RMIT’s Paralympic and Olympic athletes reaching their goals in Rio.

Hard work, dedication, early mornings, late nights, a significant amount of coffee(!) and a fantastic support team- the vital elements to achieving a goal. Tonight it was our turn as the athletes to congratulate the students on what THEY had achieved, the increedible opportunities that lie ahead and the knowledge that they’re RMIT family will always be there for them.

A big THANK YOU to RMIT for inviting us to share in such a special moment for so many. A wonderful evening of celebration for all.

Photography courtesy of Nico Photography.

(Olympic marathon runner Lisa Weightman, myself, RMIT Vice Chancellor and President Martin Bean CBE, and Paralympic swimmer Ashleigh McConnell)