CQUniversity graduate Tessa Benveniste has two previous degrees but she's still prepared to travel all the way from Adelaide to the Sunshine Coast to celebrate her latest qualification...

Tessa has chosen to attend CQUniversity's Noosa Campus graduation ceremony on June 13 to mark completion of her Honours degree in Psychology, achieved through study at the University's Appleton Institute in Adelaide.

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Tessa Benveniste

During her Honours year, Tessa explored whether children's knowledge of sleep had a bearing on their sleep outcomes. She was supervised by Dr Sarah Blunden and Dr Kirrilly Thompson.

She continues to be based at the Appleton Institute where she's fine-tuning the topic for her PhD research, under the supervision of Professor Drew Dawson and Dr Sophia Rainbird.

"Broadly speaking I'll be looking at social factors around the transition of students from Indigenous communities coming to city schools and universities, and then back again to their communities, including whether their relationship with city students is helpful or not, as well as the impacts of their leaving on their home communities," Tessa says.

"I'm really enjoying the experience of studying at the Appleton Institute."

Before enrolling with CQUniversity, Tessa completed degrees in Medical Sciences and Psychology with Flinders University and the University of South Australia respectively.

Tessa will have some additional supporters at the Noosa Campus graduation ceremony (due to be held in the Events Centre at the Maroochydore RSL Club).

"My parents and my 88-year-old grandmother (who has supported me a lot with my studies) are coming with me. They are really the reason I am going to the graduation!" she says.