NRL Gold Coast Titans player Anthony Don may have missed an in-person graduation at the University of New England - but the celebrations still went on.
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Instead of having his Master in Business Administration conferred on him at UNE's autumn graduation - scheduled for May 1 and 2 - his testamur was posted to him.
"Yes, it's disappointing that I was not to be able to attend graduation but I'll be celebrating with my partner and baby girl, Frankie," Don said.
"Completing this MBA meant a lot to me. It was tough to balance study, the demands of professional sport and life but I had plenty of guidance from UNE.
"On a personal level, it means I have achieved in an area other than sport and have a qualification I can fall back on when my playing career is over."
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Don said he had no plans to retire soon and was only being realistic about the future.
"I'm now the oldest player in the team and at some time I'm going to have to hang up my boots," he said.
"Going forward I hope to remain in the National Rugby League in some capacity, perhaps sport administration.
"I also have an undergraduate degree in teaching, which means more options for me to choose from post NRL."
Don completed his teaching degree after school before joining the family electrical engineering business.
He was signed by the Titans' Queensland Cup team, the Burleigh Bears, in 2013.
Later that year he debuted for the Titans against the Parramatta Eels.
He became the Titans' leading try scorer during the 2019 NRL season.
Going forward I hope to remain in the National Rugby League in some capacity, perhaps sport administration.
More than 1200 UNE graduands missed out on graduation ceremonies due to coronavirus restrictions on mass gatherings. They were given the option of receiving their testamurs by post or in person at future graduations events.
For a small group of UNE students, the cancellation of autumn graduation marks the second time that they have been impacted by events.
"Some of our students were severely impacted by the bushfires in December 2019, and were unable to travel to graduation," Professor Brigid Heywood, UNE's Vice-Chancellor and CEO, said.
"They chose to attend the May event, which we now had to cancel in line with COVID-19 health directives.
"Graduation is traditionally a day of joy and celebration for students, representing the culmination of years of hard work.
"It is disappointing that we cannot celebrate their achievement together but on behalf of UNE, I congratulate them on successfully completing their studies and wish them all of the best in their future endeavours.
"I hope that when life settles, all out new alumni may join us for one of our celebration events."
