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2017 | SEMESTER 1
TAKING THE
EXTRA STEP
SINCE the establishment of the Nyombil
Centre in 2012 the population of
Indigenous students on campus has grown
exponentially, flourishing in both the
diversity of study and culture.
Of the many Indigenous students that
proudly cross the stage to receive their
Bachelor degrees, there are a number who
have decided to take their education to the
next level.
Dani Larkin
Doctor of Philosophy
After completing her Master of Laws –
Corporate and Commercial degree in
April last year, Dani Larkin has made
the leap to a PhD.
Inspired by her own experience as
an Indigenous woman working in
organisations in the private and public
law spaces, Ms Larkin’s doctoral thesis
will address international law, human
rights, constitutional law and politics
through a lens of cultural identity.
Ms Larkin says the continued support
from the law faculty throughout her
degrees has been instrumental to her
academic and intellectual growth.
“I came from a background in
corporate and commercial law, and
Oscar Davis, Hannah Duncan, Dani Larkin
and Caitlin Rodaughan are four such
students who have gone on to study
postgraduate degrees in addition to their
undergraduate studies at Bond, taking
that extra step toward fulfilling their career
ambitions.
Motivated by a hunger for knowledge and
experience, these students are now delving
into high-profile areas of study within the
fields of law, philosophy and psychology.
Bond offered a Masters in that field,”
says Ms Larkin.
“I stayed on to do my PhD after having
that Masters experience and being
exposed to such great teaching capacity
and student support.”
Ms Larkin looks forward to applying for
internships with the United Nations and
continuing a career in political advocacy.
Caitlin Rodaughan
Oscar Davis
Master of Philosophy
Oscar Davis made the shift from
studying the mind to speaking it,
when he discovered his love for
philosophy during one of his core
psychology classes.
Mr Davis received an Indigenous
Community Scholarship to study a
Bachelor of Psychological Science, later
making the switch to the fields he is
most interested in.
“I may have frustrated the Student
Business Centre with the degree
changes,” says Mr Davis, “but I
went on to complete a Bachelor
of Arts majoring in Philosophy and
Criminology, and then went on to
start a related postgraduate degree.”
Mr Davis is currently working through
his Masters thesis centred on the
principals of morality and the laws of
human nature.
He also works as a teacher at
Bond, where he has been inspired
to facilitate thought-provoking
conversations with his students, just as
his own professors had done with him.
Master of Psychology
For Caitlin Rodaughan, it was Bond’s
personal teaching approach that sealed
the deal on both an honours and
postgraduate degree in psychology.
She is currently compiling her Masters
thesis to test frameworks for mental
health in Indigenous university students,
while also working as an Indigenous
Tutorial Assistance Scheme (ITAS) Support
Officer at Bond.
“When I was at university in Melbourne
I didn’t even know my teacher’s names,”
reflects Ms Rodaughan.
“But then when I came to Bond, I
remember even just at orientation there
were so many teachers who were already
willing to talk to me. I think that is the
major bonus that helped me decide to
stick around for my Masters.”
Ms Rodaughan hopes to qualify and
register as a clinical psychologist in the
near future, aiming to secure a full-time
job in 2018.
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