Paul Collis was the first person in his family to finish high school and on Wednesday he graduated from the University of Canberra with a Doctor of Philosophy.
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A proud Barkindji man, originally from Bourke, Dr Collis has spent the better part of a decade studying at the university, facing many obstacles along the way.
"I didn't start my undergraduate degree until I was in my late 30s," the now 58-year-old says.
"I never had the confidence, the belief in myself. I thought I wasn't smart enough, there were too many white people, would they laugh at me if I didn't know the words."
Now the words belong to him. His PhD in communications has resulted in a novel, One Day, One Night and Another Day, which discusses Indigenous masculinity, cultural issues, incarceration rates, and friendship, the journey of a group of men who are released from jail and are headed home.
"It asks the reader to see from the position of 'other' – in this case, the 'other' being that of an Aboriginal man struggling in modern Australia," Dr Collis said.
Dr Collis has seen a lot of this struggle first hand. During his study he's had 28 family members die, including his mother and all of his uncles.
"For a while it was one after the other," he said. "I couldn't get home for the funerals most of the time so I missed out on all the cultural business and that was hard.
"And it's a 12-hour drive back to Bourke and I didn't have the time or money and every time someone would die my study would suffer.
"I saw full generations go out. It was like a war zone. I kept asking myself is this closing the gap?"
He first came to UC in 2004 to complete his undergraduate degree, which he had started at Newcastle in 1995. He completed his Bachelor of Communications in Multimedia before being awarded a Creative Communications Honours degree
He was the first Aboriginal student to achieve honours at UC and the first to win the Herbert Burton Medal, one of the university's most prestigious awards.
He credits the team at the university's Ngunnawal Centre, which supports Indigenous students through a range of academic and pastoral support programs, with helping him to achieve his goals.
"The quiet, peaceful and education-focused environment of UC was an important factor in completing my thesis," he said.
"The Ngunnawal Centre, in particular, encouraged me and helped me build my confidence – a key ingredient that is often fragile in Indigenous students."
Dr Collis was one of 1500 UC students who received their degrees across four ceremonies on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Australia's first female Governor-General, Dame Quentin Bryce, was awarded an honorary doctorate in recognition of her distinguished service to the Australian community, as Australia's 25th Governor-General, a leader, pioneer, role model and mentor for women, and an advocate for human rights, especially for the rights and welfare of women and children.
"I am honoured to receive this recognition from the University of Canberra. It is a great delight as my family has strong connections with this wonderful institution," she said.
Dame Quentin's husband Michael Bryce has been an adjunct professor at the university since 2007, was a member of the University of Canberra Council from 2005-2009, and received an honorary degree 13 years ago.
