“Curtin Commons is an online storytelling space for Curtin alumni, staff, students and friends. Featuring a series of thought-provoking articles intended to inspire and enlighten, Commons celebrates the many amazing contributions of our Curtin community and how they are striving to create a brighter future for us all.”
– Carmelle Wilkinson, Editor-in-Chief
As a young boy, Harman Singh Heer would sit quietly in the back of a […]
18/03/2026. By Carmelle Wilkinson. For many people in their early 40s, writing a gift into […]
18/03/2026. By Carmelle Wilkinson. Long before thousands of West Australians relaxed on bean bags and […]
For William Peucker, discovering graphic design wasn’t just about finding a career – it was about coming home.
Dressed in her graduation regalia, Afia Anjum stood beside the stage at Curtin’s 2025 Djiiba Graduations. Just weeks before, she received news no one is ever prepared for.
Amidst the chaos of civil war in Sri Lanka, a young man driven by pure will and an entrepreneurial flair, launched a start-up that later, his daughter would help turn into a flourishing business.
Ed Punchard. From surviving the world’s worst offshore oil rig disaster to uncovering long-lost shipwrecks […]
Matt, Nate and Dan Curran are passionate about celebrating their indigenous roots and sparking meaningful change along the way.
Creative director Ken Leung is the visionary behind Curtin Alumni’s new video. The Curtin alum has an extraordinary career story, which involves working in New York and with major fashion brands like Calvin Klein.
In 2015, Tom Johnston swapped his business suit for a wetsuit – opening his own surf school – Perth Go Surf.
Since then, Tom now has the rewarding task of helping people with autism find enjoyment in catching their own waves, through a new partnership – Ocean Heroes.
After winning Curtin’s Talent for Tomorrow Competition in 2023 – there is a name that has become quite popular at our graduation celebrations – 3NA.
For the past two years, brothers Matt, Dan and Nate have been treating our graduation audiences to a finale most universities would be envious of. Dan (Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery) and Nate (Bachelor of Science, Occupational Therapy) are both proud Curtin Alumnus, and together with their brother Matt, are fusing the unlikely worlds of rap and academia together.
After years of working as a freelance designer around the world, Curtin Commerce graduate Emilie Otto became burnt out and exhausted.
Fast forward to 2024, she is now the owner of House of Hobby, which is a space that helps people find a creative hobby while supporting and empowering local artists and makers to share their skills.
Former Head of English and current Head of Academics and Innovation at Wesley College Adam Kealley understands the power of words.
With a recent PhD in creative writing and cultural studies from Curtin, the avid reader and writer shares his top tips on improving your writing skills.
From being discouraged from pursuing an art career in primary school to creating art all around the world, Lisa Principe is proof that anything is possible.
Now, the West Australian multidisciplinary artist and educator is passionate about creating work that explores the profound relationships between people, memory and place.
Since graduating from Curtin with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art and a Diploma in Secondary Education, Lisa has more than a decade of experience as a Visual Arts educator and workshop facilitator.
Engaging with a diverse range of mediums, Lisa’s work reflects how place holds traces of the past while continually becoming spaces of rebirth and possibility.
“I find most clarity when I’m out in the natural world,” she said.
“That is something that I want to share with others because we live in such a rushed society where we miss so much beauty and stillness.”
Her recent exhibitions, In Parallel (2026) and Spirits of the Earth (2025), further develop her ongoing investigation into the relationship between people and place.
For Lisa, she wants viewers to understand that life has cycles, but we will always make it through.
“What I love about art is the legacy you can leave,” she said.
“Life has many cycles, from death and destruction to rebirth and light, and I feel like we can learn so much from the natural world.”
Read more in our full interview with Lisa here.
Image L-R: Lisa in her studio photographed by Tashi Hall, The Stages of Sunrise triptych (2025 Spirits of the Earth exhibition), Dr Noel Nannup (2025 Lester Prize entry), Regrowth (2026 In Parellel: An Atlas of Becoming, Shaped by Place), The Trees Danced Like Kaleidoscopes (2025 exhibition spirits of the earth) and A Place of Reflection (2025 Exhibition Spirits of the Earth).
Subscribe to our Curtin Commons Noticeboard newsletter, and you’ll receive the latest news, profiles and in-depth essays in your inbox every month!
If you’re already a Curtin graduate, update your details to receive our newsletter automatically.
What do you think about Curtin Commons and the stories we’re sharing? Have any ideas or a story you think we should cover? We want to know.
A ‘commons’ is a space that is shared by and benefits a community.
Our commons is a cultural and virtual one, reflecting the ideas and experiences shared by a proud and distinct Curtin community living in Western Australia and around the world. We hope that this space will inspire us to stay connected in ways that are beneficial to our lives, families and communities.
