Victoria Miloschewsky: Transforming lives through the power of education

Qualification: Bachelor of Business (Double Major in Hospitality & Human Resources Management), 1995
Job: CEO and Founder, PeopleStories Charity

Coming from a working-class family, attending university once felt like an impossible dream. Victoria witnessed her sisters leave school early to help support the family, experiences that shaped her understanding of how life-changing access to education can be. Receiving a scholarship to study in Australia opened doors she never imagined possible, and enrolling at VU became the beginning of a journey that would eventually impact thousands of children around the world.

Drawn to VU's inclusive community and practical approach to learning, Victoria chose to combine Human Resources and Hospitality Management, two disciplines that reflected her passion for people. Beyond the classroom, it was the friendships she formed that made the greatest impact.

As a newcomer to Australia, I didn't have many friends. Building friendships with fellow students created a healthy social network that supported me through many tough times. Those relationships made VU feel like home and shaped both my confidence and my sense of belonging.

Victoria says the balance of theory and practical project work gave her both the confidence and skills to begin a career built around helping people reach their potential.

After graduating, Victoria spent more than 25 years working across Human Resources, Training and Development, Organisational Development and Change Management. Whether leading cultural transformation or developing future leaders, her focus remained the same: bringing out the best in people.

One of her proudest achievements came when she helped transform an organisation's culture from one driven by entitlement to one focused on achievement. Within two years, the organisation had significantly improved profitability and received an industry award for culture transformation.

We proved HR can drive commercial results and should never be seen as just a support function.

While Victoria built a successful corporate career, life also presented significant personal challenges. As a single mother for 15 years, she balanced raising her son Edward while navigating multiple cancer surgeries and treatments. Those experiences strengthened her resilience and reinforced her desire to live a life guided by purpose.

In 2017, Victoria founded PeopleStories Charity, combining decades of leadership experience with her belief that education can transform lives. What began as a desire to give back has grown into an organisation supporting thousands of children across rural Cambodia through scholarships, literacy programs, school facilities and digital learning initiatives.

Walking the philanthropy path, Victoria says, "was never part of my childhood dreams, nor a carefully constructed plan – it feels like it was meant to be."

Since its founding, PeopleStories has provided 658 bicycles, 1,198 annual scholarships and almost 60,000 hours of digital education. Working alongside local communities and a global network of supporters, the charity now partners with government schools to help children access opportunities that many families could never otherwise afford.

One of the organisation's most innovative initiatives emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, when an abandoned tuk-tuk inspired a completely new way of delivering education.

If children cannot come to school, why don't we bring school to them?

The donated tuk-tuk was transformed into a mobile digital classroom carrying 75 laptops and professionally designed e-learning courses, allowing children in remote villages to continue learning and marking the beginning of a shift from "chalk and talk" to "flick and click".

Today, PeopleStories continues to expand its impact through initiatives such as STEM for Girls scholarships and the recently launched Girls for Girls travel-learning program, bringing together women from around the world to learn, collaborate and empower girls in rural Cambodia.

 

Looking ahead, Victoria hopes to continue strengthening local communities so they can lead sustainable change long into the future. She believes the greatest measure of success is creating opportunities that outlast a single lifetime.

For Victoria, education changed the course of her own life. Today, she is helping ensure thousands of children have the opportunity to change theirs.

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