Dr Sonia Marshall, Outstanding Alumni Award winner

Dr Sonia Marshall, who graduated with a PhD in 2010, was among three winners at the Outstanding Alumni Awards at USC Sunshine Coast on 24 October 2019.

Dr Marshall, the recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award, said she had driven positive change in public health and the local community using the communication techniques, research skills and “ability to think outside the square” gained during her USC doctorate in environmental interpretation.

The Sunshine Coast Council strategic policy officer in sustainability, whose teenage daughter has cystic fibrosis, last year successfully lobbied for a cystic fibrosis medication to be approved for listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

The cost for patients to access the drug Orkambi has now dropped from $250,000 a year to less than $500 a year, increasing the expected lifespan of sufferers by 23 years to age 50.

Dr Marshall is currently leading a UNESCO Biosphere nomination for the Sunshine Coast area and continuing to work on local environmental sustainability benchmarking. In 2017, she helped achieve carbon neutrality accreditation for the Sunshine Coast Airport.

Lieutenant Commander Thomas Miller, rising star award

The Rising Star award recipient was Royal Australian Navy Lieutenant Commander
Thomas Miller, who has two nursing degrees from USC and is a full-time specialist Emergency Nursing Officer and Head of Nurse Education for the Australian Navy.

Lieutenant Commander Miller was sponsored by the Australian Defence Force during his USC studies, which included a Master of Advanced Nursing Practice (Emergency Care) in 2016 and a Bachelor of Nursing Science in 2010.

The senior clinician has held leadership roles in many types of operational deployments both within Australia and overseas, including Iraq, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea. His current role involves overseeing education for all nurses entering the Australian Navy.

This year Lieutenant Commander Miller attended a military operation in Kabul as Officer in Command of the Military Emergency Department. Last year he was awarded a Fellowship by the College of Emergency Nurses Australasia recognising his contribution and professional excellence in emergency nursing.

Mr Andrew Fairbairn, Regional Achievement Award

The Regional Achievement Award went to 2001 marketing graduate Andrew Fairbairn, who leads industry and membership development at Visit Sunshine Coast.

Mr Fairbairn said his Bachelor of Business (Marketing) had taken him from work experience at Tourism Noosa and sales management at Sheraton Noosa in 2004 to an international career with luxury hotel chains and Wotif Group across the Asia Pacific.

He returned from overseas in 2017 to champion the development of the Sunshine Coast as a tourism destination. A key element of this strategy was helping unify 19 local groups by creating a Sub-Regional Development Board and developing new tourism products and experiences. These initiatives have largely contributed to unprecedented visitation numbers for the Sunshine Coast.

For more information about the Outstanding Alumni Awards visit usc.edu.au/alumniawards