25+ Rockhampton, Yeppoon high school duxes

Ginninderra MP Tara Cheyne was awarded dux at the end of her high school journey at The Rockhampton Grammar School in 2003.

Tara graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism and Bachelor of Arts in 2007 from The University of Queensland.

She later studied a Master of Business Administration at the University of Canberra.

Tara joined the Australian Labor Party in her final year of university in 2007.

She said went on to work for the Attorney-General’s Department and was group director for the reparations group in the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce.

“That was a really defining time in my life,” she said.

She said it took her awhile to fall in love with Canberra.

“It wasn’t until I moved to a district called Belconnen that I really felt like I had found my home,” she said.

“I got really involved in the community and joined a few different community organisations.

“I also started a blog called ‘In The Taratory’.”

She said she liked where the ACT government was heading and wanted to “be in the room where all the big decisions are taken and be part of those decisions and influence them”.

“In 2015 I was preselected by my party as a candidate and in 2016 I was elected,” she said.

“For the first four years I was the government whip.

“In 2020 I ran again and I was re-elected and became a Minister.”

Tara held five portfolios, which were Arts Minister, Business and Better Regulation Minister, Human Rights Minister, Multicultural Affairs Minister and Economic Development Assistant Minister.

She said one of her biggest achievements was campaigning to have the ban lifted on voluntary assisted dying in the ACT.

“In the mid-90s, the Commonwealth parliament amended our self-government act that banned the ACT and Northern Territory from being able to legislate for voluntary assisted dying,” she said.

“Since I was a backbencher when I first got elected I’ve been driving a strong campaign to have this ban on the ACT lifted and that got a lot of momentum over the years and some major setbacks as well.

“In 2018 the senate voted on it and voted no.

“But fortunately last year, with the change in government and a different makeup in the senate, that democratic right for us to be able to legislate for voluntary assisted dying was granted.

“And now as the Minister for Human Rights I am leading the development of our voluntary assisted dying model here in the ACT.

“In the arts I have released a statement of ambition for Canberra to be recognised as Australia’s Arts Capitol.

“It’s been the biggest privilege and honour to serve the community that I love.”

Find out what some of Rockhampton and Yeppoon’s best and brightest are doing after high school.

See the list here:

THE ROCKHAMPTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Millicent Rayner – dux 2022

Millicent Rayner will study a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne followed by a degree in the medical field.

Millicent’s goal is to become a doctor.

She also recently received a Queensland Certificate of Education Distinguished Academic Achiever Award.

Peter Letchford – dux 1977

Peter Letchford graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science in 1982 from The University of Queensland.

Peter lives in Kununurra, Western Australia, and is a veterinary surgeon and consultant, and the founder and director of Pastoral Veterinary Solutions.

Founded in 1993, the business provides veterinary solutions by aircraft to the pastoral and live export industries in North Australia.

Ian Dearden – dux 1973

Judge Ian Dearden graduated from The University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1977 and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) in 1980.

Judge Dearden also completed a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice and Master of Legal Practice through the Queensland University of Technology.

He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Southern Queensland on October 6, 2022.

Judge Dearden was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1984 and was briefly admitted as a solicitor and barrister of the Supreme Court of Nauru in 1995.

He was appointed a judge of the District Court of Queensland and the Childrens Court of Queensland in 2005.

ROCKHAMPTON GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Amiee Leane – dux 2018

Amiee Leane graduated with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours) in 2022 from The University of Queensland.

Amiee worked as a student speech pathologist for The University of Queensland, Queensland Health in Clermont and the Australian Foundation For Disability in Brisbane.

She also worked as a self-employed speech therapy aide in Brisbane where she implemented a home program developed by a speech pathologist with a paediatric client with childhood apraxia of speech

She currently works as a speech language pathologist for SpeechEase Speech Therapy in Townsville.

Caitlin Bartlett – dux 2017

Caitlin Bartlett is studying at The University of Queensland.

After leaving high school, Caitlin wanted to study medicine.

Tahlia Kelly – dux 2016

Tahlia Kelly is a JD Candidate at the University of Melbourne.

Tahlia graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2020 from the University of Melbourne and has a Diploma in Languages (Chinese).

She is the events director at Public Interest Law Network and ambassador at FAME Law Students‘ Association.

She is also the assistant editor and secretary of Melbourne Journal of International Law.

Abby Godwin-Smith – dux 2015

Abbey Godwin-Smith graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 2021 from James Cook University.

Abbey did a rural placement in Emerald in her final year at university.

After graduating from university in 2021, Abbey was set to head to Toowoomba.

Briony Brooks – dux 2014

Briony Brooks graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science in 2019 from James Cook University.

Briony then moved to Charters Towers to work as a mixed practice veterinarian.

She currently works as a veterinarian at Clermont Veterinary Surgery.

Michelle Gately – dux 2011

Michelle Gately graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2014 from Bond University and a Graduate Diploma in Arts (Writing and Editing) from Deakin University in 2021.

Michelle worked as a journalist at The Morning Bulletin for five years.

In 2019, she moved to the UK for two years and did freelance copywriting work and podcast editing.

She returned to Rockhampton in 2021 and joined the team at ABC Capricornia as a features writer.

Leigh South – dux 1980

Dr Leigh South graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (Medicine) in 1986 from The University of Queensland.

Leigh was Senior Resident Medical Officer in Oncology at The Geelong Hospital in 1989 and Principal House Officer in Psychiatry at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital in 1990.

She currently works as a general practitioner at City Heart Medical in Rockhampton.

LIGHTHOUSE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

Monique Pinero – dux 2022

Monique Pinero is studying a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) through the Queensland University of Technology.

She is working as a student ambassador at the university.

HEIGHTS COLLEGE

Nitesh Nair – dux 2022

Nitesh Nair is studying at the University of Adelaide.

ROCKHAMPTON STATE HIGH SCHOOL

Isabelle Fletcher – dux 2022

Isabelle Fletcher is taking a gap year.

She will undertake her degree in computer science and a master of cyber security next year.

Jamie-Lee Patterson – dux 2018

Jamie-Lee Patterson is in her final year studying a Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Infection and Immunity, at Queensland University of Technology.

Jamie-Lee plans to do her masters once her biomedical science degree is finished.

Her goal is to be a clinical epidemiologist, which requires post-grad studies.

She lives in Brisbane and works in a skin cancer clinic as a medical assistant.

Ashlee Barnett – dux 2017

Ashlee Barnett is studying a Bachelor of Laws (Honours).

She is working at Phelan Family Law in Rockhampton as a paralegal.

Vincent Doan – dux 2015

Vincent Doan graduated with a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in Chemistry in 2020 from the Australian National University.

Vincent has worked as a research assistant and laboratory demonstrator at the Australian National University, a data entry officer at the Australian Bureau of Statistics and a data analyst at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Currently, he is working as a data analyst for the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care in Canberra.

He says he works to manage data pipelines for the Covid-19 Vaccine Taskforce, and has also been involved in a few projects using linked data to research and identify information that can be used in improve health outcomes in vulnerable and priority populations in Australia.

ST URSULA’S COLLEGE

Sarah Callinan – dux 2015

Sarah Callinan graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Business Administration in 2021 from the Australian National University.

Sarah attended International Space Camp while in Year 12, and a humanitarian engineering study program in Cambodia in 2017. She was also due to attend an engineering entrepreneurship study program in Arizona, USA.

In 2019, she was named president of the Australian Capital Territory Chapter of Engineers Without Borders.

She worked as a systems engineering intern at Cisco and is currently working as a consultant at Synergy Group in Canberra.

Jordon Irwin – dux 2011

Jordon Irwin completed a Bachelor of Science (majoring in Analytical and Molecular Science) with Honours at CQUniversity, and submitted her PhD thesis in June 2019.

Jordon was an academic at the university for seven years, with her research looking at how best to manage and prevent musculoskeletal problems caused by cholesterol-lowering medications.

She is an associate lecturer at the university and has a keen interest in pharmacology and biochemistry.

ST BRENDAN’S COLLEGE

Ben O’Brien – dux 2022

Ben O’Brien is currently studying a double degree at Bond University in Politics and Law.

Ben is also part of the Gold Coast SUNS Academy.

Kevin Keller – dux 2020

Kevin Keller is studying a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Arts at The University of Queensland.

Kevin is also a junior law clerk at Sciaccas Lawyers in Brisbane.

Flynn Berry – dux 2017

Flynn Berry studied a Bachelor of Actuarial Science at Bond University.

Flynn works as a pricing actuary in motor and lifestyle at Auto and General Insurance Company in Brisbane.

Mark Clayton – dux 2011

Mark Clayton graduated with a Bachelor of Biotechnology (First Class Honours) and Bachelor of Microbiology in 2017 from The University of Queensland.

Mark also did a diploma of global issues, sociology, environment and politics at the university in 2016.

Mark was campaign organiser for the Queensland Greens in Brisbane in 2016, 2018 and in 2022 for the federal election.

He was also a campaign co-ordinator for the Sexual Health Action Group at The University of Queensland and Brisbane Renters Alliance, and a microbiology laboratory technician at Metagenics ANZ in Brisbane.

Mark Cranny – dux 1989

Mark Cranny graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting, Finance and Business Law in 1992 from Bond University.

Mark works as a as a strategic adviser and global chief financial officer at Intellective in Brisbane.

He also works part-time as a chief financial officer at Panthera Resources and Hartecs Group.

He is a certified chair for the Advisory Board Centre and director and chair of board for Iona College Brisbane.

He is also an executive committee member for the Moreton Bay Discovery Centre and junior basketball coach for the Carina Cobras Basketball Club.

Brad Williams – dux 1988

Brad Williams graduated with a Bachelor of Accounting in 1991 from the Queensland University of Technology.

Brad worked as a finance officer at Hervey Bay City Council and buying and merchandising finance analyst for Arcadia Group, which was headquartered in London, England.

He currently works as executive director of finance at QIC in Brisbane, and has held several finance roles with the company over the years, with the most recent being general manager finance, investments.

YEPPOON STATE HIGH SCHOOL

Charlie Kirkland – dux 2022

Charlie Kirkland will be studying Biomedical Science at The University of Queensland.

Seamus Byrt – dux 2017

Seamus Byrt studied a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and a Bachelor of Science at the Queensland University of Technology.

Seamus is also a student ambassador at the university.

He is a sailing instructor at Southport Yacht Club and Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron.

Jordan Windress – dux 2013

Jordan Windress graduated with a Bachelor of Business (Finance Major) and Bachelor of Laws in 2019 from the Queensland University of Technology.

Jordan worked as a lawyer for a year at McCullough Robertson in Brisbane, specialising in corporate and commercial and then in the planing, environment, and property development team.

He currently works as a lawyer at McMahon Clarke in Brisbane, specialising in funds management with a particular focus on property funds, capital raising and mergers and acquisitions.

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