Brigidine Role Models in the Community

What do you get when you blend the calibre of our staff, the offerings of our school and the unique talents of each student?

A woman who will know her calling, have an engaging career, and a rewarding life, while helping those more vulnerable than herself.

At Brigidine, we lay the foundations for excellence and our young women do the rest.

Our graduates have gone on to excel in their chosen fields, while keeping alive their passion and commitment to social justice. From lawyers advancing criminal justice and human rights, to nurses doing volunteer work in Cambodia, to doctors fighting disease outbreaks in Africa and jewellery designers developing sustainable supply chains – we are proud of their success and how they strive for a better life for others.

Meet some of our amazing Women of our Time

We’re proud of our graduates who have become amazing women of our time. Meet some of our girls below. Click through to their in-depth stories to discover how Brigidine College helped shape them into the unstoppable women they are today.

Meet Courtney, one of our Brigidine College Graduates and hear about her journey through Brigidine and beyond.

Courtney Fook (nee Crack)

Founder of Active Eight and Tippy Toe Co.

Brigidine Graduate, 2010

Wanting to make a difference to the lives of children with disability, Courtney and her partner Zachary founded Tippy Toe Co. to enhance the wellbeing of children and young adults and allow them the opportunity to participate and enjoy activities in an accepting and encouraging environment.

Dr Ambereen Khan

Lecturer in Prosthodontics – The University of Queensland

Brigidine Graduate, 1996

Ambereen graduated from Brigidine College in 1996, with several awards and prizes in the science and maths arena. This led to her tertiary studies at The University of Queensland in Dentistry, and then postgraduate studies at the University of Texas in San Antonio, USA.

She returned to the University of Queensland in 2010 as the first female Prosthodontist Specialist academic in the University’s history and currently remains as such. In 2015 as the dental school began its new operations in Herston as the Oral Health Centre on the medical school campus, Ambereen was entrusted with Discipline Lead in her specialty and was able to singlehandedly rewrite the undergraduate curriculum for the subject of prosthodontics.

Her teachers have always been her inspiration for becoming a teacher herself and she owes her personal successes to these influences in her life.

Ambereen also enjoys creative writing in her spare time. She has recollections of the most wonderful lessons of high school English with Mrs. Brosnan and studying The Great Gatsby, amongst other classics. She published a covid themed children’s picture book based on true stories of hope in 2020. To pay homage to her research roots, the book contains references of each story as it appeared. A copy can be found at the College library.

Ambereen has maintained part-time private practice at Indooroopilly for the last 12 years and regularly sees young ladies from Brigidine waiting to take the bus home when the school day ends, reminding her of her days at the College. She has maintained life long friendships with her high school friends, and values the qualities the school stands for which have served her well throughout her life.

Lyma Nguyen

Human Rights Lawyer, Advocate, Brigidine Graduate 1999

Brigidine Graduate, 1999

Lyma, whose earliest memories stem back to the Indonesian refugee camp in which she was born, has devoted the better part of her working life to human rights.

She has particularly concerned herself with advancing criminal justice domestically and in the international sphere. Most notably she acts on behalf of ethnic Vietnamese Cambodians – as well as foreign nationals from Australia, New Zealand and the United States – who suffered during the Khmer Rouge regime.

Read Lyma’s speech to our Graduating 2017 Class

Dr Devini Ameratunga

Senior Registrar Mater Hospital, Medical Lecturer University of Queensland

Brigidine Graduate, 1997

After studying physiotherapy Devini continued with medicine and today is a specialist in IVF, Obstetrics and Gynaecology with a special interest in minimally invasive surgery. She works at one of the largest maternity hospitals in Australia (Mater Mothers’), started her private practice in fertility and Gynaecological Surgery in 2013, and is a lecturer at the University of Queensland Medical School. She is passionate about women’s health and continuing education and involved in teaching trainees and GPs for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Read Devini’s speech to our Graduating 2012 Class.

Jacinta Stewart

Artist, Advocate

Brigidine Graduate, 1982

Jacinta is a New York based artist whose exhibitions showcase the beauty of Australia with some shining a spotlight on threatened species and cultural/indigenous icons. She has held many exhibitions throughout Australia and New York including at the Australian Consulate. Her paintings are part of private collections throughout Australia, England, Malaysia and the USA. Her most recent Brisbane exhibition (2018) featured Australian endangered birds inspired by the charity BirdLife Australia.

Locals can see her work at Kenmore State Preschool where she was commissioned in 2010 to paint a large Mural “Where the Forest meets the Sea” celebrating the wildlife of the Rainforest and Ocean areas of Queensland. 15% of all her sales are donated to The Dwelling Place, a shelter for homeless women in the heart of Hell’s Kitchen, NYC, run by The Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, NY.

Dr Amanda Rojek

Doctor, Rhodes Scholar

Brigidine Graduate, 2003

Dr Amanda Rojek is a Rhodes Scholar, UQ Valedictorian and humanitarian. She has an interest in global health security and is focused on improving patient outcomes in emerging and epidemic disease outbreaks, having led the RAPIDE trial in Sierra Leone during the West Africa Ebola epidemic (2013 – 2016), the most widespread outbreak of Ebola in history.

Amanda has volunteered for Remote Area Medical in Chicago, Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans and been a member of Queensland’s State Emergency Service.

Rachel Burke

Designer & Artist

Brigidine Graduate, 2006

Rachel Burke is an Australian-based clothing designer and multi-disciplinary artist, photographer and author. Creating specialty, wearable art pieces, Rachel documents her creative journey and daily art practice on her website and Instagram page.

All of her tinsel garment pieces are custom made-to-order using high quality, up-cycled, garment bases and have been worn by celebrities including The Kardashians and Sheppard. Rachel continues to support Brigidine through presentations to current students.

Maddie Daly

Nurse

Brigidine Graduate, 2009

Maddie graduated from UQ at the end of 2013 with a Nursing/Midwifery degree and was going to continue working as a nurse at the Royal Children’s Hospital. She has undertaken three humanitarian trips to Siem Reap in Cambodia.

Claire Poppi

Jewellery Artist & Metalsmith

Brigidine Graduate, 2003

After receiving first class honours in her Fine Art degree, Claire Poppi established a studio with other jewellers and began her practice in jewellery and metal-smithing, focusing on sustainable design and wearable art. Her ethical use of biodegradable and recycled metals that form her environmentally friendly jewellery line, Small Green Leaf, sits comfortably with the Brigidine charism of environmental stewardship.