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NEARLY 1000 students will graduate from La Trobe University in Bendigo this week, with 730 of those students receiving their degrees in front of family and friends at an official ceremony.
La Trobe University vice-chancellor John Dewar said graduation was a special occasion for the university.
"It is wonderful for the whole community," he said.
"It is an opportunity for the students, parents, their families and the staff who have taught them to celebrate and it marks, for them, a big transition as life as a student."
It is an opportunity for the students, parents, their families and the staff who have taught them to celebrate.
- John Dewar
Mr Dewar said La Trobe University had 80 international students studying in Bendigo.
He said it brought a cultural diversity to the city and the university campus.
"I am confident that all of those students will go home from Bendigo with fond memories of their experiences but some of them have decided they want to stay."
Mature-age student Jo Stevens graduated with a Bachelor of Education and specialised in special education.
The mother-of-three was a recipient of the Flo Robinson Special Education Memorial Scholarship, which is named after former principal of Kangaroo Flat Primary School Flo Robinson.
Ms Stevens said the scholarship helped her financially.
"It was a big boost," she said.
"People recognise the passion I have to work in that field of education.
"It is a really specialised form of education and amazing that this person has left money for people to go into the field that she loved."
Graduations continue at the Bendigo Stadium on Thursday.