Alumni - Where Are They Now?
Lowanna Moran
Where are you from?
What is your favorite memory from UNSW?
I am a Mudawarri and Gamillaroi woman.
My grandmother comes from the Mudawarri
nation and my grandfather comes from the
Gamillaroi nation.
Attending the Nura Gili centre and the events
hosted by Nura Gili. Nura Gili provides students
with a real sense of community, I always felt a
sense of belonging at the centre and it was
always a great place to visit. I also enjoyed
being a staff member for Nura Gili; it was such
a great experience to travel and promote the
university as an ambassador. Another valued
experience was the two years that I supervised
on the Winter School program; it was amazing
being a leader and a role model to the Winter
School students.
What degree did you study at
UNSW?
Bachelor of Art Education
When did you graduate from UNSW?
2014
What are some of the achievements you
have accomplished since graduating?
I am currently a full time visual arts teacher for
the Department of Education. I am the first
Indigenous student to graduate from the
Australian Indigenous Education Foundation
(AIEF). I fulfilled all of their outcomes by
completing secondary and tertiary schooling.
What career are you currently in?
If you could give current students one piece
of advice, what would it be?
Be resilient and organized in your approach to
study. Most importantly don’t be scared to ask
for help in times of need. As Indigenous students
we face many disadvantageslaces and places
like Nura Gili exist to help you in your journey so
don’t be afraid to reach out for help. Always live
by the motto that anything is possible if you put
your mind to it.
Teaching.
Lowanna guest
speaking at 2014
Pre-Programs
Graduation
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Liam Ridgeway: Where Culture
& Economics Meet
My name is Liam Ridgeway, I am a
Gumbaynggirr man from North Coast of NSW
on my Dad’s side and Wakka Wakka of mid-east
Queensland on my Mum’s side. I work at Nura
Gili as a Student Support Officer and have been
in this role since early 2015.
I recently married my now wife, Dina Saulo, in a
traditional Papua New Guinean wedding.
Dina’s Dad’s people are from Lafu Village in
New Ireland Province of PNG and her Mum’s
people are Aboriginal, from the Wergaia Nation
in Western Victoria. Dina and I met at University
in 2003 and after a long time decided to tie the
knot. The wedding was an amazing experience
and we had about forty family and friends
travel from Australia and then about eight
hundred family, friends and guests from New
manager in his own field and I guess him having
Ireland, New Hanover and other parts of PNG.
that success always made me believe that this
would be the path that I too would lead.
The wedding consisted of four parts; the first
part was my naming ceremony where I was
When I graduated from University, I only had a
given a skin name from the Mangatarian clan.
minor understanding of the direction that I
Then the traditional wedding ceremony where
wanted to take my career, the two things that I
there is an exchange of food, pigs, shell money did know is that I wanted to do a marketing role
and local currency. This is then followed by a
and that I wanted the company that I worked for
western ring ceremony and finally a number of
to be a well-known brand. I guess when you are
traditional performances by different clans from young and just out of university, and without a
New Ireland, New Hanover and New Britain.
life plan (or at least a five year plan) you are
really trying to compete to get into a graduate
I graduated from a Bachelor of Business in 2006 role at a well-known company and try to out-do
from UTS, Sydney. My interest in studying a
your peers and classmates.
Bachelor of Business was based on two things;
the first being that I enjoyed Business Studies
The first step of my journey after university and
in high school and the other was that I believed what I though was right at the time was to work
that by studying business at University it would out what my strategy and execution plan would
allow me to keep my options open when it came be to get in front of a great employer and
to career pathways and future opportunities.
impress them. When I reflect on this, I can really
say that I was just trying to aim high but really
I majored in Marketing and Management
had very little idea what to do, where to go or
because of an intrigue and curiosity that I had in even how to start. The most important thing I
wanting to understand how to influence
learnt here was that even if I don’t know what I
consumers at a conscious and subconscious
want to do or how to do it I must just start doing
level. From a more simplistic perspective, I
and exploring and I will find my path as I
majored in management because I wanted to be progress. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to
a leader and manage a team of people. I think
achieve any progress if I didn’t start to seek and
that I got this drive from my father, ever since I
explore opportunities. From here I began
can remember he has been a leader and
applying directly into graduate programs from
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