UQ’s annual multi-faith Thanksgiving Service - to be held in Brisbane on Wednesday, May 6 - recognises the generosity of anatomy donors who provide a unique gift to humanity after their deaths.
But for second year UQ medical student Kate Hawkins, the Thanksgiving Service has also unexpectedly provided new beginnings.
Ms Hawkins was among the cohort of students encouraged to meet families of anatomy donors after last year’s service.
By chance, one group of family members organised an introduction to British pediatrician Dr Clare Sheahan, who is currently working in a regional hospital at Iringa, in the Tanzanian southern highlands.
“I emailed Dr Sheahan and asked if she knew anyone who would be prepared to be my supervisor for my first year elective,” Ms Hawkins said.
“She emailed back that she would be happy to do it. At the end of the year I found myself travelling three days to reach Tanzania to undertake my four-week medical elective.
“Attending the ceremony was very important to me, but I could never have foreseen that it would completely change my life and provide such an amazing opportunity to learn first hand about health issues in another country.”
Ms Hawkins, whose family is from the Lismore region, said the Thanksgiving Service celebrated the selflessness of people who donated their bodies so that future generations could learn from them.
“It’s a remarkable thing that anatomy donors do for the community. They have such insight and generosity. It takes a very special person to do that,” she said.
“I was very impressed, and I’ll be there again this year and every year of my studies.”
This year’s UQ Thanksgiving Service will honour 93 anatomy donors, the largest number of donors in the service's history.
The May 6 service will be held at the UQ Centre, Union Road, St Lucia at 5.30pm with Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Keniger as guest speaker.
The UQ Thanksgiving Service organising committee chair is Leo Brown of the School of Biomedical Sciences.
Mr Brown said the University welcomed relatives and friends of donors, and interested members of the community to attend the service.
“The gift of donors is important for the training of professional groups including medical, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, science, speech pathology and audiology, dentistry, pharmacy and human movement studies students,” Mr Brown said.
UQ has been holding the Thanksgiving Service since 1992, when it acknowledged all donors to the School of Biomedical Science's Bequest Program since 1927. The event was the first of its kind in Australia and New Zealand. Appreciated by relatives and the community, it is now an important UQ tradition.
Mr Brown said this year the service would specifically honour donors who died during 2007 and whose bodies had assisted students over the past two years to gain increased knowledge of human anatomy.
Representatives from the Christian, Muslim and Buddhist traditions will speak at this year’s service.
Mr Brown said other tertiary institutions in Australia and New Zealand had adopted UQ's model.
The So-La Voce Chamber Choir of 16 voices will sing at the service, led by Reka Csernyik of UQ's School of Music, and accompanied by a string trio.
For details of the Thanksgiving Service, visit http://www.uq.edu.au/sbms/thanksgiving-service
People requiring more information can contact:
• Gabrielle Pascoe (Secretary) email: g.pascoe@uq.edu.au phone: (07) 3365 1950
• Leo Brown (Chairman) email: leo.brown@uq.edu.au phone: (07) 3365 2515
• Rev Ian Howells (UQ Multifaith Chaplaincy Services), email i.howells@uq.edu.au, phone 3365 6656.
Media: Thanksgiving Service chair Leo Brown (07 3365 2515) or Jan King at UQ Communications (07 3365 1120).
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