Benalla GOTAFE students graduate at Wangaratta ceremony

By Simon Ruppert

Mar 20, 2023

Achievement: GOTAFE graduates Rhiannon Hochfeld and Breanna Cottee. Photo by Contributed

More than 100 students had their moment in the spotlight at GOTAFE’s Wangaratta and Benalla graduation on Wednesday, March 15.

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More than 300 people attended the graduation, which was emceed by Tim Campbell and featured a keynote address from 2022 Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott, as well as a set by nurse-turned-comedian Georgie Carroll.

However it was the students who stole the show, with Yarrawonga mother and daughter Emma and Shelley Soutter sharing their stories on stage of what it was like to study a Diploma of Nursing together.

Nursing students made up the largest cohort of graduates on the night, showing the popularity of the locally delivered Diploma of Nursing course, which sees students able to enter the workforce as enrolled nurses, with many then going on to study a further two years at university to become a registered nurse.

Wangaratta’s Rhiannon Hochfeld was among those to celebrate their graduation from the Diploma of Nursing. She began her studies in 2021 in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions.

“Living in Wangaratta, it was so much easier to study closer to home, then start working earlier,” she said.

“The course was great — we took a bit of a hit during COVID and had to study online for some of the time but the teachers were great.

“The night was amazing. Dylan Alcott was the highlight, and Georgie (Carroll) was also great.”