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Knocked down at school, Asa gets back up to lead in class
Asa Newton used to hate school. Diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyspraxia and dyslexia, he would fall behind his primary peers. “I ran away all the time.” With a mother and sister for support, Asa moved across the country. A new beginning—and a new father figure—beckoned. “But . . . my stepdad was addicted to heavy drugs and we had no idea. All our money that mum had worked for in that last five years, he used it all in two nights.” A “hectic” couple of years followed until the family met a group of practically-minded Christians. “They said, ‘Your running’s over now. We want to give you a house. We want to give you accommodation. We want to give you education. . . . I just remember looking at mum and . . . just smiling.”
So, graduating this weekend with a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) is “surreal.” “Just getting here, receiving the support I needed and becoming what I’ve always wanted to be, a teacher.” Asa has been working as a casual in schools for about two months—“I feel comfortable in the classroom”—and has received several offers of full-time employment. He believes coming to Avondale has been a calling to “ensure I use my gifts to help others around me.” The experience “gives me hope that anyone can succeed.”
Asa is one of 259 students—the most since 2021—eligible to march during the ceremonies on Sunday (December 8). More than one-third are undergraduate nurses, who, according to the 2025 Good Universities Guide, rank the five-star-rated course as number one in Australia for overall educational experience. The graduation class includes six Doctor of Philosophy graduands and the first graduands from the new Master of Counselling degree and from the Certificate III Individual Support.
Two graduands, Zoe Cochrane and Tamsyn Shofay, will receive the University Medal. The medal recognises undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students who earn not only a high grade point average but the highest in their school. As Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary) and a Master of Teaching (Primary) students, both are from the School of Education and Science. And both are recipients of academic prizes—with the Adventist Media Digital Media and Journalism Prize and the Ministry of Teaching (Secondary) Prize, Zoe is a recipient of multiple prizes.
Students identified as high or consistent achievers receive prizes during the presentation of their testamurs. Graduation class co-president Megan Wilson is Lake Macquarie campus recipient of the Avondale Prize For Excellence; Sue Martin is the Sydney campus recipient.
The graduation class motto, Sent with a purpose, comes from the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. “It’s a beautiful reminder that, regardless of the courses we’ve completed or the careers we’re starting, we’re called to a higher purpose, to ‘go and make disciples,’” writes co-president Megan Wilson. Referring to mixed feelings about celebrating the end of the Avondale experience, she notes the assurance of verse 20. “We don’t have to face uncertainties alone as Jesus promises, ‘I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”
In his message, Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Malcolm Coulson encourages graduands to “stay true to the purpose and calling that God has placed on your life,” adding, “Stay grounded in your faith.”
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