Focus on Alumni | Jed Fraser - Class of 2013

Rivermount College graduate, Jed Fraser, Class of 2013, recently shared with Year 12 students his inspirational career journey, including being nominated last year for the Queensland Young Aboriginal of the Year award. Jed’s story is an empowering one that depicts determination and courage. His current success positively reflects the choices he made as he travelled from high school graduate to celebrated professional.

Following his graduation, Jed quickly learned the importance of following a career path that focused on his interests. Upon entering the workforce, he took the time to explore different career options, many in fields that, as a Senior Student, may not have appealed to him. While completing his senior studies at Rivermount College, Jed undertook a school-based apprentice as a Chef, before going on to TAFE to complete a Certificate IV in Fitness and a Diploma in Sport Development.

It became clear to Jed that his postschool education would lay the foundation for his future success and with that as his goal, he completed a Bachelor of Exercise and Movement Science through the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). He then went on to successfully complete his Master of Public Health (Health Promotion).

Jed Fraser is a proud Bidjara and Mandandanji man with family connections to South West Queensland. This strong connection to his heritage inspired Jed to pursue a career based on personal passion and interest. Jed is now a PhD Candidate with the University of Queensland and the CSIRO Australian Centre for E-Health Research. His focus is the co-design and development of a comprehensive and holistic Indigenous youth health assessment to be implemented via an electronic tablet within an Urban Aboriginal community. To compliment his vision, Jed also works as a Research Officer for the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC), the peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Health Organisations in Queensland. His research interests include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth, comprehensive health assessments and the social and cultural determinants of health. As a student, Jed was a keen sportsman, and this continued through his tertiary education where he represented QUT in touch football and netball in the University Games as well as Volleyball, Netball and Touch Football at the Indigenous Nationals University Games. After finishing his education at Rivermount College, Jed took the opportunity to work as a Senior Sports Coach at the College, coaching many teams from the First XV Rugby Team, to the Year 9 Girls Touch Football Team.

In addition to his love of sport, Jed was a proactive representative in Associations and Councils that reflected his field of interest. He was an elected official on the QUT Guild, Queensland representative for the Union of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students and was a member of the QUT Student Representative Council. Jed is currently serving on several community groups including the Butterfly Foundation Advisory Group.

His post Rivermount College journey has seen Jed experience many highlights including receiving the QUT Special Excellence Leadership Award for his work in Indigenous Health and Education in 2018 and the QUT Excellence in Service Award for 2019, before his 2020 Queensland Young Aboriginal of the Year nomination.

As a College community we commend and applaud Jed Fraser for his diligence, excellence and perseverance in following his dreams and we look forward to hearing more of his outstanding work in the field of Indigenous health and education.