As any of the graduates and guests on our Armidale campus at the weekend would have noticed: it takes a small army to make a UNE graduation ceremony the most memorable and spectacular day possible.

Among those at the vanguard is Andrena Rologas, pictured. As the Events and Special Projects Manager with UNE Life, her role is to execute and manage all the ceremonies.

What this means day-to-day is (to name just a few tasks) creating venue layouts, risk assessments, emergency evacuation plans and wet-weather contingencies; liaising with suppliers such as photographers, framers and florists; managing budgets; creating event orders for each ceremony; and overseeing graduation staff on the day, including volunteers.

All of this, Andrena says, boils down to one overarching mission: “To ensure each graduate and their guests leave our campus with the most positive and rewarding experience.”

“Every ceremony takes at least six months to plan, with many staff, suppliers and key stakeholders taking part,” Andrena says.

And all the hard work is worth “the buzz on campus and seeing the joy on each graduate and their family and friends’ faces; the reward of them making it to the end of their UNE journey”.