It’s hard to believe that four years have passed since I started my journey at ANU. A friend was only reminiscing the other day about our very first lecture in Manning Clarke. It’s hard to map all the changes between that lecture and now, and not just personal growth, but also around ANU and Canberra, more broadly.

ANU has been a great place to grow up and discover what I’d actually like to do when I grow up. 17-year old me had no idea what lay ahead when I moved to Canberra. But while I grew up and changed, so did Canberra. Kambri, the light rail, and development around the capital, are paving the way for new experiences. While I will look back fondly on sharing doughnuts from the campus bakery with friends on the grass in Union Court, new memories will be made by new students in Kambri. It is a timely reminder that all things must evolve, and while sometimes uncomfortable, this enables growth and unexpected experiences.

Closer to home, the Reimagine Project poses exciting changes to how we prepare the engineers of tomorrow for the challenges they will face. The evolution of our curriculum and teaching is underpinned by the belief that we can do better. While the changes are something I will not experience, I look forward to seeing the outcome.

I wouldn’t have made it, and I daresay many graduates may not be where they are today, without the support of friends, family, administration staff, clubs, lecturers, and mentors. I will forever be grateful for the support from academics at the ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) and the student experience team. Thank you for believing in us and providing incredible opportunities we couldn’t have had anywhere else. My dad commented the other day that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to tutor, study abroad twice, work for the university, and present my research as an undergrad, if I had gone somewhere else. Now, I don’t know if that’s entirely true, but those experiences wouldn’t have been possible without the support of administration, friends, and academic staff.

To all graduates, be proud of how far you’ve come and all you’ve done. Think back to that first year arriving in Manning Clarke and appreciate how much you’ve grown and changed. We are each on a personal journey, and I’m glad my journey brought me here. I hope ANU will be a place others hold dear, for me, ANU and CECS will forever have a special place in my heart - so special a place, it’s enough to keep me here.

All the best, 

Ellen Lynch

Bachelor of Engineering (R&D) graduate
Commencing PhD studies in 2019