It was fantastic to see distance students graduating in Auckland this week. Seeing their nervously ecstatic faces cross the stage encourages me to keep focused on my own study. Takapuna City is a great place to parade and celebrate. The shops and [...]]]>

Students parade down the main street of Takapuna ahead of their graduation ceremony

It was fantastic to see distance students graduating in Auckland this week. Seeing their nervously ecstatic faces cross the stage encourages me to keep focused on my own study. Takapuna City is a great place to parade and celebrate. The shops and restaurants filled with graduates and their families creates a real buzz on the main street which is lined with spectators as we parade past.

EXMSS will be supporting the Palmerston North graduations too. I will be one of the lucky ones on stage watching each student get capped but EXMSS also has an evening celebration that marks graduations for distance students in a very special way.

The EXMSS Graduation Dinner will be on the 17th of May, tickets cost $45  and that provides a complimentary glass of bubbles and a three course meal. But the highlights of the evening are often said to be the guest speaker (this year it is Richard Shaw) and the graduate’s stories.

The EXMSS Graduation Dinner at Wharerata

After dinner graduates are given the opportunity to say a few words about their journey and this gives people like the Massey support staff, VC and Chancellor a direct insight into what it is like to study by distance at Massey. Such a celebration is a meaningful finish to a student’s journey. Photos’ of the graduates, both individual and as a group with the Chancellor and VC are complimentary and round off the experience, described as the ‘best ever’ Massey event for distance students.

What a fantastic week. Beyond the Walls exhibition, the EXMSS Graduation Dinner, all those ceremonies and the fantastic graduates. That will be you one day; a graduate. Perhaps you have already done the [...]]]>

Christine Te Namu (Prersident of Te Waka) accepts koha for support of Maori extramural graduates from Tiri Porter (right) of EXMSS

What a fantastic week. Beyond the Walls exhibition, the EXMSS Graduation Dinner, all those ceremonies and the fantastic graduates. That will be you one day; a graduate. Perhaps you have already done the walk and are going again.

Highlights – Maori Graduation Ceremony, extramural artwork and the students stories at the EXMSS graduation dinner.

A lot goes on when everyone gets together. We have had meetings with both Maori Ropu (Te Waka in Albany and Manawatahi in Palmerston). We are working together to support services that students want (like social events on campus, access to computers and a common line in our representational activity). We have also had a Council meeting where the building work (for a student centre and accommodation block) on Albany campus was approved. There is a lot going on within Massey’s senior leadership team, a shared services initiative and discussion around what words can be used to describe Massey graduates key attributes – more about this next week. 

The graduate stories are a clear highlight for me. At our Dinner we heard from eight graduates and listened to the story of their journey. This is truly a fantastic event and one that we have recorded. So look out for the Grad Dinner short video and make sure you book your ticket for next years event well in advance.

Study Pods in the Albany Library

One final note; the Albany Library extension was officially opened at the beginning of May. It looks like a fantastic facility and we are privileged to have access as extramural students.