An Unexpected Honour

KELSEY BRICKNELL

Old Scholar, Brianna Fraser (2017) was awarded the 2020 Valedictorian for the University of Queensland’s Faculty of Medicine—an unexpected honour that led her to face one of her biggest fears.

When Brianna Fraser completed her Bachelor of Health Sciences at the University of Queensland (UQ) last year, the task of addressing her graduating cohort and a mix of Allied Health under- and postgraduates at their graduation ceremony was the furthest thing from her mind. For her, the three-year undergraduate degree, in which she majored in Public Health, was part of a larger tertiary journey—a seven-year Doctor of Medicine qualification.

Brianna graduated from undergraduate studies with a GPA of 6.865 (out of 7). The achievement did not go unnoticed by the staff in the Faculty of Medicine, nor did all of Brianna’s leadership work over the last three years.

“I signed up to get involved in the Public Health Association of the University of Queensland (PHA UQ) in my first year,” she told us. “From there I joined the Executive Team and, for the last three years, we’ve been working to address health inequality on campus.”

While leading PHA UQ, Brianna signed up to UQ’s social sport program, tutored first year university students and, put her name down to be part of the St Peters Old Scholar Tutoring Network, tutoring high school students in English, Chemistry, Biology and Anatomy. Her ability to juggle commitments was something, she said, she learnt at school.

“St Peters allowed me to become a wellrounded person,” she said. “I was able to do the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, take up leadership opportunities and play sport—the College taught me how to have a balanced lifestyle, that didn’t just focus on study.”

Given her success in so many areas of university life, you’d be forgiven for saying Brianna was a shoe-in for Valedictorian, that is, of course, unless you were her!

“I was at the gym when I got the call,” Brianna told us. “I was shocked and did not expect it at all. I didn’t know if I should accept.”

Luckily, she was talked into doing so by her family—an acceptance which led her to meet one of her fears head-on.

“Public speaking has always been one of my biggest fears,” Brianna confessed. “So, I decided to use that.”

Rather than shying away from the challenge, Brianna used her fear to theme her speech.

“I focused on how, at Uni, everything is scary— it’s all new. But the fact that so many people were graduating, well that was proof that none of those people had let their fears stop them.”

If you listen to the recording of Brianna’s speech, you can’t hear an ounce of fear in her voice. Instead, a confident, accomplished young women addresses her cohort with insights beyond her years.

“Fear, when harnessed correctly, functions as a driving force for greatness,” Brianna says in the speech, and she’s certainly proof of that, but what are her other tips for achieving greatness at Uni?

“Get involved—doing activities outside your coursework makes the study easier!” Brianna shared. “The break offered by outside activities can help you to refresh, make friends with similar interests and come back stronger.”

If all that sounds too scary, Brianna’s advice (taken from her Valedictorian speech) is to let it be:

“Go out each day, use the courage you’ve garnered over the course of your degree and do one thing that makes you truly fearful. For these are the moments that will shape our path, define us and ultimately allow us to own the unknown.”

Incredible wisdom that can be applied to all our lives. Thank you, Brianna, and congratulations.