George Alexander Foundation Scholarship

Before I proceed any further, I'd like to acknowledge the George Alexander Foundation (GAF) for providing me a scholarship to pursue these leadership engagements. The George Alexander Foundation scholarship is awarded to students who are community minded and engage in significant volunteer work outside of academic study. 

This scholarship has enabled me to participated in volunteer work throughout my time at university, because they have provided me with a means by which I can purchase textbooks, pay tuition costs and participate in internship programs without any personal expense. 

Being a GAF scholar has honestly been such a privilege - I hope every recipient shares the stories I do because of the Foundation's generosity. Thank you George Alexander Foundation, for your endless support and kindness throughout my university studies and my career. 

Formal learning 

I am a student at the Geelong Waterfront campus, studying a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of International Studies double degree. My international studies major is politics and policy studies. 

Throughout my studies, I have been very fortunate to work with a range of different people, and engage with course content in meaningful ways. In this section, I reflect on my learning experiences in context of the Graduate Learning Outcomes, and how my formal learning led me to a better leadership style. 

Communication

In both degrees, I undertook classes where I had discussions with other students to gain new insight on a issue relating to the unit being taught. These discussions taught me clear communication to a group of diverse people, and more importantly, engage in discussion to come to a common middle ground. This skill was instrumental when I was the President on the Deakin Law Students Society Geelong, during sponsor negotiations. My experience in these seminars refined my ability to clearly articulate my position on common issues between the society and the sponsors.

Teamwork

Throughout my degree, I developed strong teamwork skills by learning to trust others, and harness their strengths to produce high-quality outcomes. For example, in a politics class, I created a campaign portfolio promoting Labor's housing policy in a team of 4 others. Each member of the team had their own area of expertise, and for the first time, that I recognised that leveraging individual strengths in a team can be extremely productive. In fact, we obtained a high distinction in that project - all of us attributed it to the trust we had as a team and as individuals. Working with different people and different personalities assisted me significantly with my role as a student ambassador. When I was promoted and able to manage small teams of ambassadors, I was often dealing with extremely different personalities. Working with different personalities in group assignments early in my degree assisted me with this role, and taught me how to manage my team by using their strengths to our advantage. 

Critical Analysis

In my law degree, I developed strong critical analysis skills by attacking one issue from multiple angles. I developed this through assessments such as research essays, legal memorandums and oral submissions, such as a witness examinations and bail applications. These assignments required me to critically interpret the law to provide written submissions that were well-rounded, articulate and clear. These skills were powerfully transferred into my role as DLSSG President, where I negotiated with sponsors. I critically analysed my proposed sponsorship agreements and prepared for every possible response of the sponsors to my proposals. For example, when sponsors questioned about past and potential event cancellations, I was able to provide a detailed events calendar with progress updates, which helped build trust and demonstrated my organisation, foresight, and leadership.