Dedicating his life to education, agriculture, water and health, Dr Parameswaran was delighted to be acknowledged for his commitment to Australia and the continued success of the country’s next generation.
Dr Parameswaran was invited to Australia from South India to take part in a fellowship in agriculture and natural resource management through the University of Adelaide.
Upon completion, he came to the Victorian College of Agriculture and Horticulture in 1976, now known as The University of Melbourne Dookie Agricultural College.
Involved in the teaching and research of agriculture and natural resource management, Dr Parameswaran began undertaking outreach activities with his students.
‘‘This involved getting the students to know farming organisations and businesses so they could integrate things and see what’s happening from the paddock to the plate,’’ he said.
This was beginning of Dr Parameswaran’s involvement in a number of community focused projects.
‘‘It gave me the opportunity to mingle with a lot of different people,’’ he said.
After several decades in academic roles with the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University, Dr Parameswaran retired in 2004, but decided it was important to continue his involvement in the community.
‘‘I became a board member of Primary Care Connect and I worked there for 14 years in a voluntary capacity,’’ he said.
‘‘I feel very proud because I’ve been involved for many, many years.’’
During his time with PCC he served on the Finance and Audit committee, the Risk Management committee and the Clinical Governance sub-committee.
He was asked to join the Murray Primary Health Network in 2016 where he continues to be involved.
Dr Parameswaran has sat on many committees and sub-committees within the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, and Goulburn-Murray Water.
His dedication and work ethic has landed him with a number of awards, including one from the Goulburn Broken CMA for ‘‘substantial contribution to Salinity Management in Victoria’’, an area of expertise for Dr Parameswaran.
Advocating for diversity within the community has always been a passion for Dr Parameswaran, after moving to Shepparton at a time when the Indian community was quite small.
One of his proudest and most recent accomplishments is his work as a director on the Adult, Community and Further Education board, specifically looking into the importance of education of indigenous peoples.
‘‘Always in my mind, I have thought education is the most important thing in life,’’ he said.
‘‘If you have that, other things follow.’’
Dr Parameswaran is proud to continue supporting not only education in the region but also Shepparton as a whole. ‘‘The Shepparton community has been so good to me and I am a strong believer if the community is behind you, you can do many things,’’ he said.
‘‘The support and encouragement is the catalyst for me to do this work.’’
He was delighted to share the news of his OAM with his wife Thankam, daughter Mini and son Rajesh.
‘‘I love the community and their support and I want to give back to the community because of what they have given to me.’’
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