Capping for sisters

Press, 3 May 1984, Page 1

Capping for sisters

Two sisters, Miriam O’Connor (left) and Rachel O’Connor, outside the Christchurch Town Hall after the University of Canterbury graduation ceremony yesterday. Both were capped with Bachelor of Arts degrees, which they have spent the last three years studying for. Miriam is continuing her studies this year at Auckland University, where she hopes to complete-a double honours degree in French and English. Rachel, who specialised in fine arts, is unemployed at the moment, but intends to set up her own interior design business. Opening the ceremony, the Pro-Chancellor, Mr C. F. S. Caldwell, said that 44 per cent of the total student roll

in New Zealand were women. The switch to professional courses and the over-all rise in the proportion of women students had been steady, he said. He made a special mention of Kathryn Garden, the first woman to graduate with a Ph.D in engineering from the University of Canterbury. She will be capped today. He also mentioned the youngest student to graduate from a university in

New Zealand, David Tan. He will graduate today with a Bachelor of Science degree with first class honours — at the age of 16. Mr Caldwell said that now, more than ever before, graduates had to be mobile and determined to find a job of their choice. However, the value of a university degree in opening up employment possibilities was likely to increase in the future rather than diminish. Graduands list, page 24