News Archive

More than 50 years ago, Lesleyann Watson enrolled at UWA.

She graduated for what her family hopes will be the last time last month.

The 70-year-old journalist and writer was thrilled to be invited to join the procession and sit on stage during the Arts graduation ceremony, the first Centenary ceremony, on 6 March.

A year after starting tertiary study, the young arts student dropped out in 1961 because she couldn't afford the fees.  She worked as a radio script writer, moved to Melbourne and met and married her husband Dennis Lingane over the next few years.

She returned to UWA 15 years later after living in Europe and having a son. Part-time study over 10 years led to a BA Hons in 1986.

Mrs Lingane began studying for her Masters part-time, then swapped to full-time study to graduate with an MPhil in 1990. During this time her son Mark was also studying (a Bachelor of Science) and they used to bump into each other on the Crawley campus.

She then went back to full-time work, as a sub-editor on The West Australian for the next 17 years. When she and her husband retired, they moved to France where Mrs Lingane studied French language and culture for 12 months, receiving a Diploma from Lyon University.

Further studies in French lured her back to UWA when they returned to WA, even though it meant driving the 600km round trip from Bridgetown every week of the academic year.

On 6 March, Mrs Lingane received her postgraduate Diploma in Modern Languages with high distinction.

"We thought that was the end," Mr Lingane said. "But Lesleyann has always loved the idea of studying at the Sorbonne and when she saw Associate Professor Marie-Eve Ritz's canary-yellow academic gown from the Sorbonne, there was a gleam in her eye!"

Published in UWA News , April 2013