Mr Smith will be among thousands of University of Tasmania graduands to take to the stage on Saturday to accept his Bachelor of Engineering from AMC.

He is graduating with First Class Honours and will give the valedictorian address for his cohort.

Mr Smith said “it was an honour” to have been able to study with his peers and was glad of the lifelong friends he had made on the way.

“For me, it’s not just been about getting that little bit of paper, but it’s the journey, the friends we’ve made along the way,” he said.

Mr Smith said he had grown up among a family with a history of seafearing and he grew up with a passion for boats and for the ocean. That passion lead him to the AMC but said his learning journey would only get better from here.

“You can take these skills and go all over the world, it’s only just the beginning for us,” he said.

Mr Smith, who was born in Tasmania, is now living in Darwin, and is spending some time relishing his new found freedom from study.

“I was born in Tasmania, my parents are from here, so I’ve definitely go an appreciation for the place,” he said.

His parents and grandparents will be with him for the graduation ceremony.

He said while he isn’t sure what he will do with his next steps he was enjoying not having to study or prep for exams.

His valedictorian speech will hopefully speak to his fellow graduands and will be injected with a bit of humour for good measure.

Mr Smith said he drew inspiration for the speech from previous speeches but said he also wanted to ensure that it was relatable. He said he tried to make it as humourous as possible.

“Graduation marks an important time in a student’s life, where joined by family and friends, they celebrate the success of learning and developing skills and experience which underpins lifelong education,” University of Tasmania vice-chancellor Rufus Black said.

“More than 5000 students are graduating over the next two weeks and will take with them an education which will prepare them for careers, both now and into the future.

Graduates from the Children’s University Tasmania will lead the Town and Gown procession on Saturday. Burnie hosted the first round of graduations earlier this week with Hobart ceremonies being held next week.