One Wagga couple not only found their dream career at CSU, they found each other.
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It is a love story that began with a student exchange in 2011, when James Farley travelled to America and fell in love with “the girl next door”.
The Wagga-based photographer and artist Kate Allman on Monday celebrated with 330 fellow students, graduating from Charles Sturt University.
It comes as close to 900 graduates receive their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees across three-days of graduation ceremonies at Charles Sturt University in Wagga.
But for Mr Farley and Ms Allman, the celebrations were continuing.
Our passion for art brought us together.
- James Farley.
“We got married on Saturday, it was Kate’s birthday yesterday and we both graduated today,” Mr Farley said. “Our passion for art brought us together.”
The couple first met at the University of North Carolina in 2011, where they were both studying an art history class. From there, a relationship blossomed and they were inseparable.
It was then Ms Allman’s turn to travel to Australia, which she did in 2012.
After six-month exchange, the couple navigated a distance relationship for more than a year, before Ms Allman returned, applying for permanent residency in 2014 and becoming an Australian citizen this year.
Following the stresses of work and post-graduate study, the newlyweds said they were looking forward to a well-deserved break.
Ms Allman – who works for Eastern Riverina Arts – was awarded a master of information studies (librarianship) on Monday morning.
Her husband, Mr Farley – an award-winning local artist, photographer and photography lecturer – was awarded a PhD for his thesis, Working Within | Post-Photography and the Practice of Ecological Stewardship, that afternoon.
The recently appointed school of communication and creative industries lecturer said their time at CSU had been “great”.
“It always comes back to art,” Mr Farley said. "It’s everything we do, everything we’re interested in.”
The couple said they intended to stay in Wagga, sharing a love of the small-town life.
“All my family have come through CSU,” Mr Farley said. “Coming from a rural area, I knew I wanted to stay rural.”