Written by the amazing Hollie Hughes from our blog team. Being a university student is hard enough – between balancing classes, assessments, part-time work and a social life, often the most important aspects can be left behind, including making a budget and sticking to it. Dealing with all the pressures of living out of home …
Review by the wonderful Samantha Edwards from our blog team. Spanning decades and continents, Dr Edith Eger’s beautifully told memoir takes readers on a journey through the challenges and triumphs of life as a genocide victim and Holocaust survivor. From Auschwitz to America and eventually Australia, Eger is now a great-grandmother and has built her …
Post by the excellent Ameliija Swaffer-Selff, one of our 2018 Leadership Competition winners. The Power Trip was a truly amazing experience that I will never forget. It was a week full of inspiring workshops, motivational speakers and networking opportunities, interacting with just some of the many powerful women who play a vital role in our …
2018 Power Trip Reflection – Ameliija Swaffer-Selff Read More »
Post by the amazing Hannah Whytcross, one of our 2018 Leadership Competition winners, sponsored by AgriFutures Australia. Winning the Power Trip for 2018 was such a life changing trip. The trip itself had many parts I enjoyed, mostly the friendships and connections with high-profile women in different workplaces/industries. I didn’t realise how much of a …
Written by the beautiful Rebecca Pickering from our blog team. As women, we hear one word in particular mentioned an awful lot. To some, this word prompts thoughts of loved ones, friends and family alike. Some think of themselves, and others think of the scenery that surrounds us, in art and in nature, in their …
Post by the wonderful Maddie McShane, one of our 2018 Leadership Competition winners. Upon finishing school, I found I didn’t know what to do with myself. I had loved my last 13 years of schooling from start to finish and wasn’t entirely sure what label I was to wear if it wasn’t as a “schoolkid.” …
A Powerful Experience: 2018 Power Trip Reflection – Maddie McShane Read More »
Written by the amazing Louise Miolin from our blog team. This post was also featured on Pltform. For as long as I can remember, menstruation has been a topic shrouded in secrecy and shame. The first time I ever seriously thought about periods was when my Year 6 teacher sent all the boys outside to …
Written by the incredible Emma Angstmann, one of our 2018 Leadership Competition winners, sponsored by AgriFutures Australia. It all started with an idea, a dream, a passion; a hope to touch the lives who needed it most, to empower and inspire. When Project Empower made their 32,000 kilometre journey, they managed to reach a tiny …
The power trip was the most life changing experience for me. Through meeting the most powerful leaders in our country to the amazing project empower workshop, it taught me to find my strengths and has given me the reassurance that if I work hard enough at something, I will be able to reach my goals.I now know how to take a stand for things I believe in even if I am the only voice. I was really surprised at how everyone came from different parts of the country but all had similar experiences with sexism in their own communities. The best piece of advice I was given was to stand up for others when you know they don’t feel they can.From here I wish to continue to tackle sexism and gender inequalities within my community and reassure everyone that their voice matters. I wish to obtain a career where I can work with improving the mental health of people every day.Without Country to Canberra I might never have realised that there are so many opportunities out there for rural women to shine. Thank you to the Country to Canberra team and the amazing girls I got to share this experience with, you have all changed my life.
I am passionate about equality and applied for the Country to Canberra Leadership Competition because I thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to develop my knowledge of different issues and practical leadership skills, such as public speaking and networking. Receiving the phone call from the team at C2C to tell me I had won a place on the Power Trip…that was an absolutely awesome feeling. I feel very lucky to have had a chance to be a part of this wonderful program, to have met such amazing people and to have had my eyes opened to new ideas and perspectives.Day 1… we arrived in Canberra from all corners of Australia and set out on our adventure around the nation’s capital. Day 2 was focused on ‘Developing You.’ We began with a sightseeing tour of Canberra before sitting down to the Project Empower workshop. This session was so powerful for me; never before had someone asked me to write down my values. I found this experience empowering because it felt like I had so much control over my actions and decisions- I knew if I always acted with those specific values in mind I would feel more confident in what I do.Day 3 was all about leadership — focusing on public speaking, entrepreneurship and different leadership styles. We also had a great panel that evening with four incredible speakers — Louise Burrow, Nip Wijewickrema, Alpha Cheng and Jasmine Whitten — who each offered a unique and inspiring personal perspective. During this event, we also practiced networking; this was daunting at first, but grew easier as the evening went on. Day 4 opened with the Powerful Women’s Breakfast- which was, in all honesty, awe-inspiring. To be surrounded by and able to speak with so many amazing women from different professions and backgrounds was a unique experience. We also watched Question Time at Parliament House and had lunch in the lovely Parliament gardens with a mix of MPs and Senators from all sides of politics. We also got to meet Prime Minister Scott Morrison which was an excellent experience. To top the day off, we had our final networking event — a panel dinner at the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. For me, this practical skill development in networking was a uniquely valuable experience — by the final event I felt so much more confident in my ability to meet new people and discuss new topics. On Day 5, I think each of us travelled home more confident, more educated and more grateful than ever for the fantastic opportunity we had had. Since the trip, I have felt more confident in myself, especially when it comes to sharing my opinion in a constructive way, public-speaking and networking. I would encourage people to apply for this trip — it is incredible! I would like to thank the entire team at C2C for their tireless work to make the trip so amazing and to empower a new generation of leaders.“We do not inherit the world from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”- Chief SeattleThis quote particularly resonates with me as I believe these words should inform and inspire a new generation of leadership — leadership focused on integrity and providing for present and future generations, not leadership that drags its heels in the mistakes of the past. Leadership that promotes, embodies and inspires respect.That is what I hope for the future — and with programs inspiring young people to consider taking on leadership roles, such as C2C, I think this hope looks promising.
