When Tara Khatri Lamichhane of Nepal received her Nursing Science degree from USC last week, there was no shortage of cameras ready to capture the moment.

Twenty-one members of her family travelled to the Sunshine Coast on Wednesday to attend her graduation ceremony, including six people who had made the trip from the Chitwan district of Nepal.

Tara, 24, said the support of her husband, parents, siblings, cousins, nephews, and her in-laws had made her graduation from USC even more memorable.

“It was a really exciting day,” she said. “I worked very hard throughout my studies, and seeing everyone there supporting me made all my efforts worthwhile.

“Six people travelled from Nepal to be there, including my parents, and I felt very honoured that they made such a journey just to attend the ceremony. I’m looking forward to showing them around the Sunshine Coast.
 
“I chose to enrol at USC because I’d heard about the quality of the education, and so it was a very proud moment for me to be handed my degree.”

The Nundah resident moved to Australia with her husband in October 2013, after working as a health assistant in her home country.

Tara is now employed by an Arcare aged care facility at North Lakes and said she was enjoying making a difference to the lives of elderly people.

“Studying at USC has opened up so many opportunities for me,” she said. “It’s a challenging and rewarding role at Arcare, and I’m very happy to be building my experience as a nurse.

“I really appreciated all my tutors throughout my time at USC. They were very willing to help when I needed it and I found the environment really supportive of international students.”

More than 1,400 students graduated from USC over three days earlier this month, in front of crowds totalling more than 5,000.

— Gen Kennedy