TAFE graduates celebrate milestone

EACH year, TAFE Queensland’s Fraser Coast campuses play a pivotal role in shaping the region’s future workforce, and this year’s graduation ceremony offered a powerful reminder of the impact vocational education continues to have across the community.

Held at the Beach House Hotel, the celebration brought together students, educators, and families to acknowledge not just individual achievement, but the collective aspiration of a region investing in skills, opportunity, and meaningful career pathways.

Students from a broad range of study areas—including automotive, beauty, early childhood education and care, nursing, business, and engineering—were honoured as newly qualified graduates.

These individuals represent a diverse cross-section of local residents who dedicated themselves to training throughout 2025, many with the goal of beginning a new career or strengthening an existing one.

Their success demonstrates both personal determination and the essential role TAFE Queensland plays as a trusted training provider.

Among the standout moments of the ceremony was the recognition of 25-year-old Certificate IV in School Based Education Support graduate Casey Rawson, awarded the 2025 Fraser Coast Student of the Year.

The accolade was a proud milestone for Ms Rawson, who said she felt deeply honoured.

“To receive this award was overwhelming in the best way. I’m so grateful to my teacher, my classmates and everyone I’ve worked with for supporting me to get to this point,” she said.

“It really shows that my hard work has paid off, and that I’m in the right industry and making the right choices. And it’s a great confidence booster – being neurodivergent, I’m not always sure of how I’m doing, and this course has really taught me to back myself. So this award is further reassurance of that.”

Her passion for supporting neurodivergent students was clear, as was her motivation to create the kind of classroom environment she wished she’d had growing up.

She explained how she discovered her career direction almost instantly during placement.

“The second I stepped foot into a classroom on my first day of placement, I knew it was the right path for me,” she said.

Now preparing to begin a Bachelor of Education and stepping into a coveted role at her “dream school,” Ms Rawson said her goal is “to have an impact on the students I work with and be the support that wasn’t available to me when I was in primary school.”

Her success was also a proud moment for her teacher, Kaye Livingstone, who received the 2025 Fraser Coast Educator of the Year Award after being nominated by her students.

“It’s a wonderful validation. I absolutely love teaching, so to be recognised for the work I’m doing is a real reminder that I’m doing the right thing,” she said.

Another local educator, Hervey Bay’s Cameron Hughes, was honoured as Educator of the Year for TAFE Queensland Online—recognition he described as particularly meaningful given the unique challenges of remote teaching.

TAFE Queensland East Coast region General Manager Mark Reilly
reflected on the organisation’s long-standing commitment to changing lives.

He highlighted the vital importance of skilled graduates in meeting local workforce demand and shaping the future of the Fraser Coast.

As enrolments open for 2026, the ceremony stands as a testament to what vocational education continues to deliver: real skills, real confidence, and real future opportunities.