Student Leadership Conference

Nyadol Nyuon

Nyadol Nyuon is a lawyer, community advocate, writer, and accomplished public speaker.

Nyadol was born in a refugee camp in Itang, Ethiopia, and raised in Kakuma Refugee camp, Kenya. In 2005, at the age of eighteen, she moved to Australia as a refugee.

Since then, Nyadol has completed a Bachelor of Arts from Victoria University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Melbourne. She now works as a senior consultant in the Community Crime Prevention Unit of the Victorian Department of Justice.

Nyadol is a vocal advocate for human rights, multiculturalism, the settlement of people with refugee experiences and those seeking asylum. She has worked and volunteered extensively in these areas with a range of organisations.

Nyadol is also a regular media commentator in these areas, having appeared on ABC’s The Drum, as a panellist on Q&A and contributing to The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and the Saturday Paper, to name just a few.

Read about the in person workshops here.

Win the 'What if...?'s War

Anita van Rooyen, Confidence Hackers

You know those thoughts that keep you awake at night? The ones that keep swirling through your head, over and over? Together in this workshop we'll discover ways to win against your ‘what if...?', the ‘why me?’ and the ‘what the?’ thoughts.

Ignite & Rewrite Your Story

Anita van Rooyen, Confidence Hackers

In this interactive session, we'll discover the beliefs that hold us back from moving forward, then using guided vision work, create amazing new beliefs that powerfully move you forward to the version of leader you aim to be.

Resilience in your career & making opportunities

Daniel Lunardi and Tonya Wimhurst, Careers Consultants

In this workshop we'll discuss resilience while searching for jobs and throughout the application process, as well as how to:

• articulate skills developed through COVID-19 (resilience & adaptability)
• network for support
• explore and create opportunities for yourself through freelancing, entrepreneurship, networking, business creation, personal branding and embracing the gig economy in the future of work.

Transform discomfort & vulnerability into strength & resilience

Nicole Melder, Senior Counsellor,  VU Wellbeing Services

Students will gain insights into how transformative discomfort, confrontation, and vulnerability can be when leaders have the courage to identify and admit to what we are feeling, even when the feelings may be extremely challenging to cope with. Nicole will share her experiences of being in challenging situations and invite students to share their own, and demonstrate how being open and honest about our vulnerabilities will transform us into agile, resilient and courageous leaders. Nicole will draw on work by Dr Susan David (psychologist and management consultant) to facilitate a discussion around emotions and how our emotions can be used as a strength rather than weakness.

Authentic leadership for planetary health

Jeannie Rea, Associate Professor, Senior Manager Planetary Health

Our planet embodies resilience and reinvention – it always fights back despite all that humans do to destroy it. First Nations peoples around the planet have cared and advocated for the wellbeing of people, place and planet as custodians of Country, despite the relentless destructive impacts of invasion and colonisation. At VU we have made a whole of university commitment to make planetary health part of all we do. Students through participation and leadership in education and research as well as co- and extracurricular activities can make this real.

What makes a leader in transformative change for the wellbeing of people, place and planet? Do we need to reinvent leadership? Explore these questions, and workshop how to be a being a resilient and authentic leader to make a better world today and tomorrow.

Ending gender-based violence - what can men do?

Shelley Hewson-Munro, Teaching Focused Scholar & Project Manager, Working Together with Men

Join a leading expert in the field of gender-based violence and some guys who are working hard to become allies for equity.

Violence against identifying women and gender-based violence is one of the biggest social-justice issues and human-rights violations across the world. Ninety-five per cent of all violent acts are committed by men either towards women or other men, so many of the answers to changing this statistic rely on men joining women to work together to end violence at all levels in our society.

This session will explore:

• Pro-feminism - could this be for you?
• Outdated masculinity norms and their impact on men and our world.
• Tips from men who have tried to be active bystanders and allies.
• Your next steps for becoming an ally and principles that you can use personally, as well as in your leadership roles with men.

Resilient Me

Marian Cronin, Associate Director, Inclusion and Engagement

In small groups, women and female identifying people will have the opportunity to work with Marian for an experience of exploration, learning and growth. Together we will tap into our own resilience, recreating our narratives, examining our "self-talk", taming that "inner critic", and doing a deep dive into the myth that our success is due to "luck".

Yes, I am a human

Emma Sheridan, Senuri Weerasekara & Michael Deppeler, Student Mentors

This workshop will focus on human interaction, team building after isolation, group work and resilience. During our workshop we will be doing some interactive activities using a giant Jenga in the form of a competition. As fellow colleagues, we will also be focusing on the student experience during one of the toughest years we faced in 2020.

Building Resilience in a Disruptive World

Associate Professor Thinh Nguyen, Head of VU Academy

The last 12 months have seen unprecedented disruption and change. Many found it challenging, while other saw opportunities to thrive. What makes one person resilient while others falter from the stress? This workshop will present the science behind resilience and how to build it.