A graduation, and the responsibility of speaking for my class

The recording begins with a wide view of the theatre. Graduates, families and guests fill the tiered seats. Academic staff are seated across the stage, and a large screen hangs above the lectern. As I begin the Graduate Address, the camera moves closer to the screen and then turns back towards the people in the room.

That wider view is important to me. Graduation recognises individual work, but no one reaches that moment entirely alone.

On 14 September 2026, I graduated from James Cook University Brisbane with two postgraduate degrees: a Master of Professional Accounting and a Master of Business Administration. Being selected to deliver the Graduate Address on behalf of the Class of 2026 added a different responsibility to the day. I was there as a graduate, but for those few minutes I was also speaking to and for a class made up of many different experiences.

Two fields that belong in the same conversation

Accounting and management are sometimes treated as separate areas. My studies brought them together.

Professional accounting builds the discipline needed to understand financial information, reporting obligations and the systems that support sound decisions. Business administration widens the frame to include strategy, leadership, governance and the way organisations respond to change. Studying both has helped me examine a decision from more than one angle: what the numbers show, how the organisation is governed, who is accountable and what the decision means in practice.

That combination now informs my doctoral research in Commerce and Management at James Cook University in Cairns. My PhD examines artificial intelligence-enabled sustainability accounting, ESG disclosure quality and corporate governance outcomes in Australian listed firms. The subject is new, but many of the underlying questions are familiar. Can decision-makers rely on the information they receive? Are reporting processes transparent? Who remains responsible when technology becomes part of the work?

The people behind the milestone

The graduation post that accompanied the recording thanked the people who made the journey possible. I want the longer record on this website to do the same.

My family and friends gave me patience, encouragement and belief throughout an intense period of study. Their contribution cannot be measured by a qualification, but it is part of every qualification I have completed.

The faculty and lecturers at JCU Brisbane provided guidance, challenged my thinking and expected serious work. Good teaching does more than prepare students to pass a subject. It asks them to test their assumptions, explain their reasoning and recognise where more learning is needed.

I also thank my fellow graduates. We shared late-night study sessions, collaboration and the resilience needed to meet demanding academic goals. The ceremony brought those separate journeys into one room.

What I carry forward

I do not see these degrees as an endpoint. They are part of the foundation for the work I am doing now as a PhD candidate, accounting and finance professional, and managing director of Poraj Services Australia.

My current work sits between research and practice. I am interested in how organisations can use new technologies while maintaining credible reporting, clear accountability and informed human judgement. The questions are academic, but they also affect boards, finance teams, investors, regulators and the communities that depend on trustworthy information.

Graduation gave me a moment to recognise what had been completed. Delivering the Graduate Address also reminded me that education carries an obligation: to use what we learn carefully, to keep asking difficult questions and to make our knowledge useful to others.

I am grateful to James Cook University Brisbane, to everyone who supported me, and to the Class of 2026 for allowing me to share that moment with them.