iServi News | 15 October 2021 | Term 4, Week 1
On Wednesday 22 September, a group of fourteen Year Ten students went to the Inspiring Australians Student Forum, sponsored by Auspire, Chevron and Perdamen. The engaging seminar was introduced by the MC, Alexander; He was a former constitutional law student at Murdoch University and is currently studying Performance Arts, after his time involved with improvisational comedy. We were introduced to Radheya Jegatheva, Rebecca Prince-Ruiz and Julian Pace. Each shared different topics of awareness and inspiration.
Radheya Jegatheva is a 22-year-old student who has a career in film and animation design. He explained to us how he disagreed with his parents’ plans for him to become a doctor. As he began studying for his degree in Commerce (focusing on marketing) and Arts, he still remained primarily interested on his passion for film making. His progress in film design and animation from Year 9 onwards until his work which was nominated and recognised for the AACTA awards and more. He inspired us to pursue our dreams regardless of what others think.
Rebecca Prince-Ruiz is a passionate advocate for terminating single-use plastic from our planet through the implementation of her program ‘Plastic-Free July’ and through her movement called ‘Choose to Refuse’. She studied science at UWA and is applying this information to her current endeavors. She inspired us to make a start in our community to make a change as we can all make a difference with little things. She told us about her recent visit to a primary school where they have implemented a ‘Waste-Free Wednesday’. This challenges the students to be thinking about what they bring to school and the effect this can have on our community long term.
Julian Pace is a young, motivating positive mental health promoter, who took us through his story of his resilience, struggles and courageous times within his life. Julian’s motivation branches from the loss of his Father due to poor mental health. This has allowed him to spread awareness for the issue and also help others to recognise what life has to offer if you view it through an optimistic perspective. His all-time low was going through his high school years, as he felt targeted and bullied due to his learning disorder, dyslexia. This lead him to feel worthless so he dropped out of school at a young age and got a job as a garden waste transferer, leaving him feeling invisible and forgotten. He has left us with many inspiring quotes to consider and shape our thinking for the future: “If you’re unhappy, remember you’re not a tree, you can move.”
We thank Murdoch University and everyone involved for this amazing experience.
Chiara Caccamo (SM2), Lilly Micale (AN7) and Taiya Leone (SE1)