USQ honours six outstanding alumni
A multi-award-winning engineer, an internationally renowned apparel entrepreneur, a United States Army veteran and an employee of a United Nations subsidiary organisation were among the 6 USQ alumni recently honoured at the annual Alumnus of the Year Awards ceremony.
The University is incredibly proud of the finalists. The following alumni exemplify the passion and commitment to their careers and communities, displayed by thousands of USQ graduates around the globe.
Eve Fraser, Director and Founder of Oz Swim Aquatics and Case Manager for International Organisation for Migration (United Nations), is the 2020 USQ Alumnus of the Year. More than 20 years ago, Eve became an entrepreneur when she founded Oz Swim Aquatics to help teach people how to swim. This company and her passion gained her notoriety globally and when 12 Thai boys were stuck in a cave in 2018, Eve was sought out to help address the hydrophobia and barriers to swimming in Thailand. This led Eve to found and register The Global Aquatic Project to ensure every child has access to quality learn to swim and water safety programs. Since then, she has led 5 missions to India, China, Thailand, and Cambodia. Eve graduated from USQ with a Bachelor of Business in 2002.
Yee Kuan Chua, or Marc as he is known to many of his friends, is the 2020 USQ Young Alumnus of the Year. As the Founder and CEO of Ultron Malaysia, Marc is an entrepreneur who has seen his company brand start in Malaysia and spread to 12 countries in Asia and is now making inroads into the Middle East. Marc also believes in giving back to his community, where, among other activities, he has been a very active member of his local Lions Club. During his time as President of his local Lions Club, his club was awarded the Top Lions Club in his Malaysian district. Marc graduated from USQ with a Master of Business Administration in Leadership in 2014.
Nandasiri Ponnamperuma, a Sri Lankan chartered accountant, has received the Alumni Chapter Volunteer of the Year award. He is being recognised for his more than 5 years of dedicated and consistent volunteerism with the USQ Sri Lanka Alumni Chapter. He has been a member and treasurer of this organisation since 2015. Nandasiri graduated from USQ with a Master of Business Administration (Finance) in 2009.
Eddie Fraser, a Queensland Police solicitor from Morayfield, is being honoured with an Outstanding Young Alumni Award. A family man known for his passion for social justice, Eddie has been a volunteer lawyer with the Moreton Bay Regional Community Legal service and was the founder and coordinator of the Morayfield Youth Ambassador Program. Eddie graduated from USQ with a Juris Doctor in 2017.
Alicia Doherty, General Manager (Queensland) for the American Chamber of Commerce Australia, has received an Outstanding Alumni Award. A veteran of the United States Army, Alicia has worked in a variety of government and community positions in both paid and volunteer roles across Australia. Known for her bubbly personality and phenomenal networking skills, Alicia has managed to combine her American heritage with her new love of Australia in everything she does. Alicia graduated from USQ with a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) in 1998.
Guillermo Capati PSM, an Adjunct Professor at the Advanced Water Management Centre at UQ, is being honoured with an Outstanding Alumni Award. He worked for the City of Gold Coast for 24 years and led the Gold Coast Water team to three International Water Association Global Awards. A civil and environmental engineer by profession, Bill is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and in 2017, he was named Engineers Australia Queensland Professional of the Year. Guillermo graduated from USQ with a Graduate Diploma of Municipal Engineering in 1991.
