Alumni Achievements

Margot Robbie graduated from Somerset College in 2007. 

From 2008 to 2010 she was cast in the Australian drama Neighbours before landing opportunities in Hollywood. Margot made her big screen debut in the film, About Time (2013). Margot rose to fame co-starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, portraying the role of Naomi Lapaglia in Martin Scorsese's Oscar nominated film, The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). She was nominated for a Breakthrough Performance MTV Movie Award, and numerous other awards. 

Margot has since starred in many Hollywood blockbuster movies, including DC comics as villain Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad (2016), for which she was nominated for a Teen Choice Award, and many other awards. In 2017 she portrayed figure skater Tonya Harding in the biographical film I, Tonya (2017), receiving critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress - Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

Ryan Johnson graduated from Somerset College in 1996. 

He excelled in performing arts, and attended the prestigious Queensland University of Technology acting program working under the guidance of acting teacher, Leonard Meenach. Ryan's break came towards the end of university when he was cast in the independent film, City Loop, alongside Sullivan Stapleton. He has worked for the Sydney Theatre Company and Belvoir Street Theatre where he played Angel Cruz in the highly acclaimed Jesus Hopped the A Train alongside and under the direction of Wayne Blair. 

In 2012, Ryan garnered attention in the US playing Ben Grogan on the USA Network's Fairly Legal. 2014 saw Ryan return to Australian television with reoccurring roles in Love Child and House Husbands and major support roles in the TV films INXS, Never Tear Us Apart and Carlotta opposite Jessica Marais.

2021 Somerset Alumni Association Awards - Early Career Winner.

Peter Thurnwald graduated from Somerset in 2015. Peter is a newly emerging Australian actor, director, and producer. Peter's school years at Somerset College were focused on academics and sport, before he was scouted by a casting agent following his first public performance in Flood by Chris Isaacs at the Gold Coast Arts festival in 2015. This led to a number of featured extra roles, the most notable on King Kong: Skull Island and Thor: Ragnarok. 

Peter graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and was selected for the Bachelor of Acting, graduating in the Class of 2019. 

In 2020, Peter's career skyrocketed when he was cast as lead character, Lachie Koh, on Stan's original headline series Bump, one of the nation's best-reviewed streaming shows. Peter is currently preparing for the launch of Bump Season 2.

2020 Somerset Alumni Association Awards - Annual Alumnus Award Winner.

Julia Crilly (OAM) graduated from Somerset College in 1994. She is a Professor of Emergency Care, a joint appointment between Griffith University and Gold Coast Health. She worked as a registered nurse in the emergency department for nearly 10 years before completing her PhD and progressing into full time research. 

Julia leads two multi-disciplinary programs of research that focus on evaluating innovative service delivery models of care for vulnerable population groups as well as understanding and improving aspects of the emergency department workforce. Her research focuses on evaluating innovative service delivery models of care for vulnerable population groups as well as understanding and improving aspects of the ED workforce.

2019 Somerset Alumni Association Awards - Annual Alumnus Award Winner.

Lisa Nissen graduated from Somerset College in 1989. Lisa is a leading pharmacy practitioner, researcher, and educator. Lisa is best known for spearheading a Queensland Pharmacist Vaccination trial, which opened the door to a new era of clinical pharmacy. Lisa is also the only person to be selected as both the PSA Young Pharmacist of the Year (in 2002), and PSA Pharmacist of the Year (2008). 

Lisa is a co-founder and director of the Healthfusion Team Challenge, an exciting and dynamic competition designed to educate tomorrow’s health care professionals in collaborative client care.

2021 Somerset Alumni Association Awards - Community Engagement Winner.

Prue Cormie graduated from Somerset College in 1997. Prue is a Principal Research Fellow at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, having completed a degree in Exercise Physiology and a PHD in Exercise for Cancer Treatment. Prue is the Founder and CEO of EX-MED Cancer, a charity that provides access to exercise physiology treatment for cancer patients. She is internationally recognised as a leader in the field of exercise and cancer. 

Prue has secured $10 million in research grant funding, published over 80 scientific research articles, presented her work at over 200 scientific conferences and seminars, and been recognised with numerous awards. In 2016, Prue was selected for a Question-and-Answer session at TEDxPerth, and continues to educate cancer patients and health care providers in the fight against cancer.

2020 Somerset Alumni Association Awards - Community Engagement Winner.

Edda graduated from Somerset College in 2006. She completed a Bachelor of BB/BCI, Marketing/Television at QUT. Edda then completed a Master of Business, Marketing at QUT. Edda is now the Co-Founder and CEO at Lána sustainable fashion company. In 2011, Edda created and co-founded Undress Runways; Australia’s leading sustainable fashion event engaging 50,000+ people each year. In 2014 she launched The Naked Mag - a magazine to shake up the fashion industry, and was awarded FYA Young Changemaker of the Year in 2015. 

In September 2016, she was named a UN Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals, and in 2017 won the Queensland Young Achiever of the Year Award. Edda’s work on Lána earned her a spot in the 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List. Edda is passionate about creating change with a focus is on responsible production and consumption, advocating for businesses as a force for good.

2019 Somerset Alumni Association Awards - Early Career Winner.

Justine graduated from Somerset College in 2012. Justine attained a Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communication), Majoring in Philosophy at the University of Sydney, where she was also awarded the Anne Dunn Memorial Prize and numerous International Media Fellowships. Justine has since become a highly respected journalist, podcaster and researcher. She has served as the 2018 Australian delegate to the Girls20 Summit in Argentina and was a Global Voices research scholar to the United Nation's 62nd Commission on the Status of Women. 

Justine launched an independent weekly politics podcast called Old Boys Clubpodcast, which rocketed to #1 on the Australia iTunes and Spotify news podcast charts, beating out The New York Times and the ABC. She has written a multitude of features published in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, The Sydney Morning Herald, the ABC, Junkee, and Crikey. Currently, she is a researching episodes for one of Australia's biggest podcasts, Shameless.

2019 Somerset Alumni Association Awards - Community Engagement Winner.

Carl graduated from Somerset College in 2006. After completing a Bachelor of Journalism (BJ), and a Bachelor of Science (BSc), Molecular Genetics, at the University of Queensland. Carl began his career as a geneticist, before becoming a reporter with ABC News in Canberra and ABCME's Behind the News, and a science writer on the ABCTV program, Sciencey. 

Carl is a Walkley Award winning Science Journalist and Presenter/Producer known for his work on the ABC’s BTN Behind the News and Radio National, and as co-creator of the award-winning childrens’ podcast Short and Curly. His career with the ABC now spans a decade and more recently is a Senior Podcast Producer of Click-Slick, a three part Science Fiction series from ABC Science and ABC Radio National.

2020 Somerset Alumni Association Awards - Early Career Award Winner.

Ursula Watts (nee Palmer) graduated from Somerset College in 2005, and now husband and Ben Watts graduated in 2002. Together, Ursula and Ben are the visionaries behind Cubby, alongside a talented team of bakers, patissiers, chefs and baristas, who produce pastries, Marvell Street coffee and delicious all-day brunches. 

They created and founded the highly renowned and much-loved Paddock Bakery in Burleigh Heads, which they renovated, by relocating and collecting parts from around Australia to restore into a wonderful historical woodfired bakery. Ursula and Ben continue to grace the Gold Coast with their magnificent produce, as the creators of Bam Bam Bakehouse in Mermaid, and Custard Canteen at Tallebudgera.

2022 Somerset Alumni Association Awards - Annual Alumnus winner

Since graduating from Somerset College in 2009, Mr. Alex Beck has succeeded in various business and athletic ventures. In 2012, Alex completed a Bachelor of Exercise Science (Bond University) and furthered his degree by obtaining his Doctorate in the field. Through this, Alex worked with various Physiotherapy companies across Queensland, before becoming a Co-Founder of Fast Track Physiotherapy, a company that aims to assist aspiring athletes in achieving their goals. 

In addition, Alex has also attained certification from the Australian Physiotherapy Association. Alex has made critical acclaim, with his achievements as an Australian athlete, including the following- x 2 Oceanic Champion, Top 8 at the Commonwealth Games, IAFF World Relays Bronze Medalist and x 4 National Champion as Number One, current Oceanic Record Holder.