Remarkable Tales

In this episode of Griffith University's Remarkable Tales, we hear about the truly exceptional Beny Bol, who has journeyed from South Sudan to leading the 60,000-strong Queensland African Communities’ Council. In his remote South Sudanese community, he didn’t expect to go to high school, and when he first come to Australia, he worked in an abattoir to support his family. Now, the former refugee has just completed his second Masters degree at Griffith University to help his work with disenfranchised youth in Logan and Melbourne. His autobiography "The Ambition and Determination of an Orphan", tells his story, and his determination to succeed by helping others along the way.

From studying International Business Relations at Griffith University’s Nathan campus to travelling the world giving financial modelling advice, Danielle Stein Fairhurst has found her business niche. The Principal Consultant at Plum Solutions, has built an international consultancy on her expertise in Excel.  She’s the author of “Financial Modeling in Excel for Dummies“, and “Using Excel for Business Analysis: a Guide to Financial Modelling Fundamentals", and has found demand for her personally designed courses on one of the world’s most popular software programs has taken her to all corners of the globe. Danielle is regularly engaged as a speaker, workshop course facilitator, financial modelling consultant and analyst.

From dropping out of high school and working as a labourer, to now communicating complex scientific concepts through his art and co-directing his own international arts company, Benjamin Werner has found his circuitous path to success. All City Walls and All City Art Services are the two branches of his vision to create contemporary creative murals on a vast scale, and also support the preservation of art that is already in existence. And when he realised that making beautiful artworks was his calling, it was completing a Bachelor of Fine Art with Honours at Griffith University’s Queensland College of Art, that focussed his journey to success. This episode of Remarkable Tales comes from the launch of Benjamin's latest large scale mural at Dutton Park State School, which continues the strong theme through much of his work, synthesising science and art.

On this episode of Remarkable Tales, we speak to Griffith University Business School graduate Rose Grass, who's overcome many obstacles to achieve her dreams. She started working with an aid organisation in Sydney, before heeding the call to Australia’s west, taking up a position as a logistics analyst for the four billion dollar oil and gas giant Woodside Energy. Rose’s particularly pride is in the company’s ethics, which she says were a crucial part of her decision to move so far away from the east coast.

From starting as one of the first players in the groundbreaking initial days of the Australian Football League’s Women’s competition, to now leading the newest club in the AFLW, Fiona McLarty is no stranger to big challenges. In this episode of Remarkable Tales, Fiona tells us about her newly created role as the Gold Coast Suns’ Head of Women’s Football, and is revelling in establishing a culture and work ethic for her 30 recruits, before the start of the AFLW season in January 2020. She is now thrilled with the ongoing commitment from Griffith University to the club, as Research and Education partner of the Gold Coast Suns.

Growing up on the southern end of the Gold Coast, Cameron Bray knew that he loved the water and being near it or in it. But beyond that, he was unsure what the future would bring. After completing his business degree at Griffith University, he followed the well worn path overseas to work as a backpacker in Europe. But it was his decision to try his luck in France working as crew on yachts, that changed the direction of his life. Now the award winning entrepreneur is back at the Gold Coast, building up his charter business to cater for a growing Australian super yacht clientele.

In this special edition of Remarkable Tales, we take you to Integrity 20, featuring some of the most provocative and profound minds in Australia, all gathered at Brisbane’s Conservatorium Theatre at South Bank. The Griffith University student newsroom has brought you interviews with some of the most inspiring speakers, such as human rights champion Navi Pillay, respected journalist Kerry O’Brien, press freedom champion Jodie Ginsberg, and artist Ms Saafa. Their perspectives have come from as far afield as Tehran, China, Saudi Arabia and Indigenous Australia.

in this episode of Remarkable Tales, we speak to award winning Griffith University graduate newsreader Ange Anderson. From a random conversation at a bus stop that sparked a dream to become a radio journalist, to now winning the award for Best News Presenter on Metro FM radio in Australia - Ange has forged a great career reading at newsrooms up and down the east coast of Australia. She’s the newsreader for the Ash, Kip, Luttsy and Susie O’Neill Breakfast Show at Nova 106.9 in Brisbane. And one of her greatest loves, is nurturing new talent, giving back to the university she started with, as a tutor of Digital Audio Media Production at the Gold Coast campus.

In this episode of Remarkable Tales, we speak to Griffith University graduate Alexis Wagner. When Alexis started her Open Universities online degree through Griffith University, she had no idea where those Asian studies would take her. But looking back now years later, her heart is very much still in Shanghai. While Alexis is now living back in Australia, in Adelaide, she is already planning her next trip to China, which she sees as her second home.

Creativity. In this episode of Remarkable Tales, we look at how we harness it in our lives and workplaces, to make us happier and more productive. Dr David Tuffley is Griffith University’s Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity. His research has found that creativity is something we can all apply no matter what our profession, and certainly should not be limited to the arts. Dean of Engagement for the Griffith Business School Professor Anne Tiernan shows how the Policy Innovation Hub has applied creativity to its workspace, and Griffith University Entrepreneur in Residence Cathy Hunt discusses how crucial it is to harness the creativity of the arts to to solve some of society's most difficult problems.