CISA 2020-2021 Executive Committee Candidates Announcement

Dear Members,

Here are the candidates for the 2020-2021 CISA Executive Committee Elections.

All candidates must be present at the AGM, 3pm-5pm AEST on the 31st August 2020 for elections.

Members will be asked to cast their votes electronically using the Electionbuddy platform during the AGM. If any nominations are withdrawn from now till the elections, thereby rendering positions vacant, it will be left to the incoming executive team to call for further nominations.

Note: Nominees with a * marked beside their names have been conditionally accepted, pending confirmation of additional documents to be provided before 31st of August 2020.

For any issues or questions in regard to the elections, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected]

Kind Regards,

Annette Kalczynska Returning Officer

National President: Belle Lim

My name is Belle Lim, I am applying for the position of the National President at CISA.

I served on the CISA executive committee as the National Women’s Officer over the past two tenures. I have dedicated myself to be a true, strong voice for female students in our cohort, and delivering initiatives that empower and support our students including the Future Female Conference. CISA’s Women’s Office has received tremendous support from students, members and stakeholders. We in turn have garnered universal recognition and respect for our work. I hereby thank all of you who have supported us in any way.

My dedication towards international students do not stop with gender and women issues. Over the past two years, I have led and supported various projects that are key to international students’ welfare and rights, including State Roundtables where COVID response and students’ issues were discussed, the Anti-Discrimination Campaign, as well as student development and capacity building, such as the 2020 Digital Summit.

Today I am applying for the National President on the ‘20/21 committee as driven by a strong belief that I will fulfil the responsibilities and lead the organisation and the students we represent to a better supported and sustainable future.

My priorities for the initial quarter of my term are (1) COVID welfare support for students in the short- and long-term, (2) sustainability of CISA as an organisation, and (3) expanding the student reach.

The pandemic has rendered international students in dreadful circumstances with loss of income and threats of homelessness. The CISA COVID Welfare campaign has yielded positive results for our students on federal, state and institutional levels. However, the devastating situation is still affecting tens of thousands of students, as President, I will continue to fight for students’ rights to the highest level. The pandemic has exposed many loopholes where international students are left vulnerable in the current education system, particularly the systematic disadvantages that limit the use of our degree based on our visa status. As the National President, my objective is to drive the international education sector to guarantee a sustainable and reliable future for international students.

On the sustainability of CISA, has been a longstanding discussion. There are a few things that warrant improvements, including knowledge retention, administrative support, stable funding, reporting mechanisms and frequent communications with our members. It is my priority that the team will make tangible progress in solidifying the stability of the organisation. This includes instating a secretariat position, constitution amendment, tightened relationship with members, as well as a transparent, systematic reporting procedure.

To my last point, as the country’s peak body, it is crucial that CISA has avenues to connect with and listen to as many students and student organisations as possible, to be able to accurately represent the needs and voice of the vast international students in Australia. To achieve this, I plan to expand the State Roundtables that have been successful and appreciated by students and memebrs.

My passion and integrity have been central to my work and engagement. Being at the core of the organisation for two years, I have also developed extensive experience and knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of CISA. It allowed me to develop tremendously as a leader, working with other talents and key stakeholders, including communications on the Federal Global Reputation Taskforce and weekly AusTrade meetings. In terms of my qualifications, I graduated from a BSci degree as the Gold Medallist, receiving the Monash International Merit Scholarship, and am currently pursuing a fully awarded PhD degree in breast cancer genetics. My journey has taught me perseverance, resilience and tenacity. I also received the Victorian Premier Award for International Student of The Year 2019 and represented my country internationally in the UNESCO Youth Forum in 2019.

Lastly, I am confident that I have the combination of right skills, experience, vision and personality to best fulfil this position and serve the needs of you as members and international students.

National Vice President: Manika Sahni*

I am Manika Sahni, post graduate student pursuing Business Analytics at Western Sydney University. I am writing to express my interest for the position of National Vice-President at CISA and talk about the experiences which make me a perfect fit for this role.

I am interested in the position because it is a great opportunity to take my efforts of representing international students beyond my university and to the national level. I have been actively helping my fellow mates both at a personal and professional level. Below is a summary of vast experiences that have helped me in developing the leadership and team management skills necessary for the role.

S Key Experiences Achievements No.

1 Student Representative Council: • Working towards formation of a dedicated Collective International Student for International Students Representative

• Connecting students with university facilities

• Leading a LinkedIn campaign focused at helping international students develop Australian workplace skills

2 Academic Committee for School • Represented the concerns and challenges being of Business: Post graduate faced by students in taking exams through online Representative examination system: ProctorU

4 Event Manager: Western • Conducted Survey to understand problems being Sydney International Student faced by International Students due to COVID Association (WSISA)

• Organized 3 successful events aimed at helping international students in making new friends

5 MATES Mentor • Student mentor for commencing international students

• Aim: Helping commencing students to transitional smoothly into the university environment

6 Work experience at University • Transition Success Contact Agent

• Providing telephone support to commencing students to assist with their transition to the University learning environment

7 Ambassador for Global Scope • Work Integrated learning programs aimed at making Program students employer ready

• Encouraged students to participate in the program by sharing experiences through social media and word of mouth

During the initial quarter of my term, I want to develop a strong relationship with my team, State Representatives and education providers which will help in effective coordination throughout the tenure. Also, I want to thoroughly understand the ongoing commitments of CISA and prioritise the tasks which need immediate attention. Moreover, my focus would be towards helping students develop Australian workplace skills which will empower them in finding a job in their own field and Council of International Students Australia (CISA) PO Box 18096, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia www.cisa.edu.au Copyright © 2020 Council of International Students Australia Inc. All rights reserved.

saving students from isolation during the current COVID situation, especially those studying from abroad.

I would like to end by sharing that I deeply understand the struggles faced by international students. There were many people who guided me to the right path and through this role, I want to pay back and help my fellow mates. Being from a culturally diverse country, I have a deep understanding and respect for all cultures. Finally, I want our multiculturalism to thrive and be a source of creating opportunities and success.

National Treasurer: Prajuli R. Maharjan*

My name is Prajuli R. Maharjan, currently majoring in Accounting and Finance at La Trobe University. I am an extremely determined, energetic and resilient individual with extensive knowledge and experience in areas of business, accounting and finance, budget analysis and project proposals. I am expressing my interest, in efforts to seek your support to serve as the CISA National Treasurer.

I understand this role comes with great responsibility, not only towards international students, but also to, CISA as a national peak body, affiliated CISA members and stakeholders. The decision to apply for this role was based on the empathy, determination, energy, and professional experience I could bring to the CISA National Treasurer role.

This organization has had a great influence on me, ever since the beginning as a new international student where I struggled to find my place and community in Australia like many of us did. Consequently, from mental health awareness and well-being sessions, employability sessions and

volunteering-benefit sessions, to standing up for international student rights, CISA slowly grew on me. As a result, I managed to flourish at university, successfully delivering national webinars to raise awareness on financial matters of international students such as Taxation, Superannuation and Budgeting. Acted as a member of the La Trobe Student Union performed administrative duties to support the student cohort, diligently worked as general secretary of the La Trobe Nepalese Student Association (NEPSA) to have decided and delivered well-being oriented events, employability focused workshops and led multicultural centric community building initiatives. As Staff at La Trobe International Students Services, support, facilitated and empowered many new students to grow and transition into university life and in Australia.

Technical Skills and Knowledge:

I have had the opportunity to polish my technical skills through extensive volunteering and relevant work and internship roles. Successfully gained accounting knowledge from 3 years at university and am knowledgeable in both theoretical and practical terms. My theoretical knowledge consisting of tax, cost budgeting, business finance, accounting principles and improved practical skills such as bookkeeping, account reconciliations, raising invoices and purchase orders, creating financial summaries, financial reports, and coordinating stakeholder engagement. I also have experience in devising project proposals, budget proposals, financial proposals, and grant approvals. Similarly, I have an intermediate computer proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite including MS Excel and MS Word and accounting software such as cloud-based Xero, and financial accounting system, Microsoft Dynamic.

Professional Experience and Industrial Exposure:

Furthermore, interning in the finance department at a large non-profit organization, Cancer Council Victoria (CCV), has sharpened my technical accounting skills and crafted soft skills at the workplace. I learnt and developed administration, analytical, financial planning, revenue acceleration, project evaluation and budget analytical skills of the multiple departments at CCV. As CISA has multiple departments that require these analytical skills, I am keen to implement these at CISA as the National Treasurer. Additionally, as a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) Student Ambassador, delivered career-building workshops for all tertiary students that supported transitioning from student life to work life. As the accounting assistant for National conferences namely, Future Female Conference, handled accounting duties such as raising invoices, filings, creating transaction reports, devising project budgets and timelines and am also competent in managing stakeholder relationships.

Lastly, as the Assistant Accountant at the CISA National Treasury Office, reconciled bank statements and accounts, prepared financial reports and jointly hosted sessions for CISA’s National Conference relating to financial awareness for international students.

Evidently, I hope to learn and grow in this role too. I aim to evolve CISA’s National Treasurer role, to consist not only the accounting aspect but also include designing successful projects and events inclusive to international students since majority of students lack financial awareness and experience financial challenges during their study overseas. My focus will also be on financial impact of COVID- 19 on international students. Additionally, I anticipate working closely with all CISA stakeholders, and promise to support executive’s projects and help set productive goals, from a finance perspective. I am very thankful for this opportunity and am excited to reach and serve thousands of international students in Australia. Therefore, I entail the range of technical accounting skills, soft communicative skills, the passion, and enthusiasm to represent international students and to create better spaces for them to grow, I hence, have offered a nuanced understanding so far. As such, I now seek your support to serve as the CISA National Treasurer.

National Secretary: Kevin Marco Tanaya

My name is Kevin Marco Tanaya. I am a current law/ politics, philosophy and economics student at the Australian National University from Indonesia. I am nominating to serve as your National Secretary for 2020-2021.

I think it is worthwhile to outline a little about my experience and how I believe they will help make me a successful National Secretary! As a law student, I am epistemically familiar with the legal obligations of the Secretary and the rest of the executive. This is also reinforced by my experience working as CISA Constitution Assistant this year as well as sitting on a disputes committee / ‘court’ in my university. The latter have also provided me with a sense on incorporated associations operates. I have also been elected to serve in the Australian Law Students Association Disputes and Grievances

Panel for 2020-2021, which would grant me understanding on how a national advocacy body would need to operate.

I also have significant experience organizing events. I was an intern at the Australian Institute of International Affairs in 2018 and I worked with them to organize the 2018 National Conference, their premier event and one which features prominent politicians, academics and other public figures. I have also organized a panel discussing the Indonesian elections for the ANU Indonesian Students Association and was in the process of organizing an academic conference for the ANU ASEAN Society before it was cancelled due to COVID-19.

If elected, my mission is simple: to make CISA an organization worthy of its members and all international students in Australia. To this end, I propose 2 main priorities: institutional governance and active advocacy. For institutional governance, we need to take stock on what has worked and what has not in terms of institutional governance for the last 10 years, and to retain the former and reform the latter. We also need to increase democratic participation from members, individual international students and stakeholders to solve problems on both a national and state / territory level. We also need to ensure that CISA has capacity to retain institutional memory so that valuable collective experience of past executives and members are not lost.

It is also essential that we ensure that CISA has the requisite capacity for holistic and active advocacy. International students face serious challenges in the age of COVID-19, some new and some existing but exacerbated. It is clear that the status quo of largely treating international students as ‘objects’ and not ‘subjects’ in discussion of their problems is untenable. CISA can and must ensure through its advocacy that international students are at the table when decisions pertinent to them are made. I believe that my background would make me well suited to ensuring this vision become a reality.

It would be an absolute honour to have your trust to be CISA’s National Secretary. I look forward to seeing you in the AGM!

National Public Relations Officer: Pramesh Shrestha

My name is Pramesh Shrestha. I am running for the National Public Relations officer position at CISA. I am highly passionate about forming connections with people from various backgrounds especially international students who are new to the University and require assistance through different volunteering programs. Also, I am involved in digital social media/marketing and content creation through my role as a Brand Ambassador at both UTS and UTS Insearch which enables me to represent my student voice at different external organizations and media outlets to generate more value. In addition, I have been involved in various news articles and also in a news channel documentary about international students in Sydney from Nepal where I got an opportunity to project my student voice and advice to all the upcoming international students. I have also created an online YouTube channel about food and life in Australia to provide information and sense of comfortability of lifestyle in Australia for international students. Using my previous experience in different media channels and skills in the public relation space I would like to expand outreach of CISAs engagement to international students across Australia in a larger scale. Also, I anticipate re-establish the media engagement through the existing CISA media channels such as CISA YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and introduce novel media presence at a national level.

I have also had opportunities to exercise my leadership qualities in different avenues both at University level and State level. I am a strong advocate of helping international student going through mental health problems which led me to be part of the respect now campaign at UTS where I was part of a team responsible for brainstorming unique ideas to create awareness such as merchandise with strong inspiring statements, free awareness campaign for students across different disciples. Consequently, I am also an active member of the Student representative council at UTS as a Conveyer for the International Collective office whose sole purpose is to help international students on campus with academics, personal issues, legal issues and general enquiries. Apart from my Campus endeavours I have also practiced my public relation skills by supporting with their transition to

Australia as the international student help desk volunteer at Sydney international airport for Study NSW.

Furthermore, I strongly believe in the strongly believe in the saying ‘I can’t, but we can’, because surrounding yourself with optimistic people and building a strong team can lead you to greater success. This was demonstrated during my time as the President of UTS Insearch Alumni Club where my team and I worked effectively to build a broader Alumni community for International students. I am dedicated to help CISA reach better heights through stronger connections, improve social media platforms and to create a proactive team who are passionate about helping international students across Australia. With my years of experience in leadership and communication skills, I strive to introduce three new methods which will enhance the student experience with CISA.

Firstly, I strive to form a PR team of dedicated individuals to who will work together efficiently to plan our goals for the organization. I will like to bring diverse PR value for different multicultural perspectives and build strong network with the existing stakeholders. My plan is to expand the linguistic capability of the Nation Public Relations office such that CISA ensures efficient reach to international students with different language competencies. As part of lobbying efforts, I aim to establish CISAs PR engagement with the national and state media like ABC, 7news, SBS to continuously advocate for international student matters with the involvement of all media stakeholders. Secondly, I aim to improve upon current media presence by introducing new techniques such as university/organization collaboration, Instagram takeovers, dedicated theme/pattern, challenges, Q/A sessions, etc. In addition, I will dedicate time to re-evaluate all existing content presented on the CISA media platforms. Using my web design and development knowledge to upgrade the CISA official website such that it incorporates user friendly interfaces to maximize student engagement. Also, I will also launch an online grievance lodgement forum for the international students to effectively lodge their concerns, issues and grievances.

Thirdly, I would like to increase communication with international students through analyzing their feedback, and an outcome of each event and suggest new ideas to the council for example a 24/7 support line for students, Fund raisers and industry led events to guide students to a positive direction. Create online feedback system from the ground level through the state level to the national level where international students are actively participating in the decision-making processes. I would like to engage both domestic and international students together for various events and causes to make the local community more aware about the struggles international students are facing across Australia and also helps international students to connect more with the Australian culture.

Taking a step further, as the national public relations officer. I will design a COVID-19 response platform and initiate a protocol to handle COVID-19 specific enquires, questions and online support

with a designated COVID-19 PR team. With the focus of CISA national conference I intend to deliver outstanding work on sponsorship and marketing coordination throughout the tenure in parallel to regular to public relations business. Most importantly, I will strive above and beyond to reinforce CISAs public relations space to tailor and accommodate international students’ needs as I have developed a strong understanding of the struggles and challenges an international student face through my engagement at institutional, state, national student leadership and public relations field and through my own personal experiences. My PR experience, knowledge, skills has led me to meet multitude number of students from all walks of life and I have witnessed their immense struggles living in a foreign country. With my professional and personal experiences, I believe I am well fit for this position and I would herby confirm my continuous dedication and commitment to work for the betterment of international students by using my PR strategies and approaches.

National Women’s Officer: Toolsika Rawoah

Toolsika Rawoah is a second-year student at Victoria University, where she is studying ‘Bachelor of Criminal Justice and Psychological Studies’. Toolsika has showcased her passion for Women’s Right by advocating for gender equality on local, national and international levels. « Gender equality is not an argument for division but a call for inclusion. » As the Women’s Officer of the Victoria University Student Union, she has lobbied for the implementation of an anti-bullying and anti-harassment Policy nationally. Toolsika has actively organised major events such as the International Women’s Day to address the issues faced by women in different sectors such as Women with disabilities Victoria, Centre for Culture and Ethnic Health, STEM sisters and Respect & Responsibility. She also organised the Bluestocking Day Event, addressing the struggles of first generations of women who fought for literacy and tertiary education rights.

Being a ‘Best Delegate’ in both the Zonal and National Model United Nations, she has experience in lobbying policymakers and debating. She was featured by the Sex Rights African Network for voicing out on the importance of understanding reproductive health. Toolsika is the core convenor of the Council of International Students Australia (CISA) PO Box 18096, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia www.cisa.edu.au Copyright © 2020 Council of International Students Australia Inc. All rights reserved.

first-ever National Sexual Health Conference which was held during a month. She has expanded exgagement on a range of topics such as sexual violence, sexual harassment, consent, intersectionality, gender equity, reproductive health, Australian laws and promoting self-care and healthy relationships in which she has broad knowledge on.

Toolsika was a panelist for the International Youth Day seminar, hosted by the Multicultural Youth Commissioner of Victoria, where she educated community leaders on the ramifications around the pandemic, mental health and aspirations post-COVID. Toolsika was also a panellist for the Liptember festival where she addressed issues such as mental health taboos and gender-based violence. As a Student Mentor, a Student Ambassador, an International Host Team Leader and a Connected Learning Officer, Toolsika regularly gives international students’ academic support and advice to make the transition to Australia easier. Toolsika actively negotiates to address issues in the Higher Education Sector as the representative of female international students during the Students as Partners Network.

As the Director of Media & Marketing of Victoria University International Students Association, her role entails engaging with the Student Community, and referring International Students to the relevant departments for support. She actively volunteers and contributes positively to her community which is also why she volunteered for the Future Female Conference. Toolsika was an ambassador to ‘Project Momentum’ where she aimed towards removing barriers to empower more women in being involved in male-dominated sports. She is also involved in the ‘Project Setu’ which is an ongoing program about making a website on resources available to protect international students against discrimination and culture shock.

Toolsika has won the Best Club award at the Student Leadership Awards through her contribution to the VU Afro Society as the Vice-President. She strongly supports the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 as an active bystander against gender-based discrimination. She believes that her previous experience as the Women’s Officer of VUSU will provide her a head start in achieving the goals set for the betterment of female students on a National level. She has built and maintained good relationships with many leaders, and she will obtain the opportunity to strengthen networks among institutions, in order to make the students community in harmony. The tasks associated with this position is no doubt, in alignment with her own principles and values, that is, providing assistance and being proactive to create pathways for a better future of our student community.

National Welfare Officer: Ray Jenkins

Ray Jenkins, an international student from New York, is an aspiring leader inspired by Servant Leadership and he actively practices servant leadership by thriving for other's betterment. Ray is a maverick who values liberty, progression, and education. 6 years studying abroad and obtaining a Bachelor of International Relations followed up by a Master of International Development Practice, has fostered an ability to understand the perspectives of international affairs and subjects within especially the welfare, education and health spheres of international students. Experiences living in The Netherlands and Australia for six years uncovered a personality to take a risk and commit to residing in environments unknown, acquiring critical life, multicultural understandings and language skills for accepting others in a diverse world.

Being a minority and International Student with such experience aligns perception and recognition with International students and the issues and inequality they face today in Australia. He sees leadership as an opportunity to serve others. He is driven by passion, experience, and inspiration. Passion to help others. Experience from previous leadership engagement. Inspiration from exemplary leaders. He volunteers as a social worker and his attitude puts a premium on multiculturalism and offers equal opportunities to upgrade students' life-profiles. Coming from an African American background, Ray values diversity and stands against racial, sex, disability, LGBTIQ+ discrimination. By volunteering for an NGO named Life Education Queensland, which allowed the opportunity to create a campaign to reduce the alarming rise of school-age bullying within the state. He helped facilitate the structure of programs that would allow young age students to interact on ideas about inclusion and acceptance of differences. This ultimately became the driving factor in gaining the confidence to speak out against other issues faced by international students in Australia. Being an International student this experience with campaigns regarding school children allowed self-reflection on the issues regarding my own educational experience in Australia.

Ray believes that every international student deserves equal opportunities as everyone else does. He strongly holds the pride that international students should not seem as dollar figures but be worthy of a better lifestyle as everyone else in the society has. As international students are the facets of soft diplomacy, he genuinely wants all the international students to be given a fair go to improve their quality of life in Australia. As the National Welfare Officer, he firmly believes in affirming support for the international student’s welfare in academics, workplace and society. His ongoing passion for helping the students and advocating their interests is a testament to why he stands as a national representative to voice up on behalf of international students. Ray has voiced up for international students on national media advocating for the basic human rights, work rights and study rights of international students in Australia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was at the frontline working and lobbying for the international students and has been featured by Nine Network’s “A Current Affair”, where he spoke on behalf of international students about the dangers of student living conditions in the pandemic.

The experience, knowledge and competencies that he has accomplished via academic, co-curricular, extracurricular, professional and social engagement at the university level, regional level, state level, national level and international level will complement him to serve as the National Welfare Officer. His exposure to welfare, advisory, policymaking, and administrative schemes would bring a unique approach to tackle international students’ welfare issues and grievances and upgrade all international students' welfare profiles. His vision for the National Welfare Office will focus on,

• COVID-19 Welfare Support for international students • Healthy Workplace for international students • Academic and Career Success of international students • Physical, Mental Health and Wellbeing of international students • Social Welfare and the creation of suicide prevention forums • Anti-Racism and Discrimination against international students

International students are one of the most resilient groups in Australia. They encounter challenges such as workplace exploitation, underrepresentation or tokenistic representation in institutions decision making bodies, challenges around operational efficiency in institutions regarding international student administrative procedures and value for investment are prominent, however, with the COVID-19 pandemic, these systematic discrepancies have been amplified.

Regarding his vision, his action plan for the next tenure is to,

• Implement a concrete ongoing COVID-19 support system across all states/ territories with the active involvement of state government while lobbying the federal government for a national support scheme to capture both onshore and offshore international students. • Actively campaign for a tuition fee reduction, against annual tuition fee increment and flexible tuition fee arrangements for international students and lobby Vice- Chancellors, Directors and other governance parties in both the Higher Education Sector and VET/TAFE sector. • Collaborate with the Fair Work Ombudsman, Australian Human Rights Commission and Commonwealth Ombudsman to work on workplace exploitation, domestic violence, harassment, bullying, discrimination at institutional levels to tackle the grievances and welfare issues on the ground level. • Address the mental health issues faced by the international students across states with the involvement of Study Clusters and take a national approach to put mechanisms in place to promote wellbeing and handle post-pandemic health challenges of the international students and launch an online grievance and complaint platform and employ an effective mechanism to answer these issues. • Reinforce the national campaign against racism and discrimination towards international students with the involvement of discrimination commissioners.

"Let's make Australia the best place for international students". With a unique background, Ray's future is one that will continue the trend to motivate visionaries and those who can help in humanitarian efforts—being one of many ambassadors for social progression and accepting differences in sharing the journey of life as a multicultural collective. Allowing for diverse understanding and solutions that work in the interest of all.

National Equity Officer: Lloyd Calimag

Lloyd has been a strong advocate for vulnerable minority groups such as LGBTQI+ community, disability, gender, racism, and ethnicity campaigns. He has fully committed himself to the international student activities throughout the past few years in the Northern territory and across

Australia. Lloyd as a leader embraces the Sui Generis "of its own kind" and Servant Leadership. Hence, he has been passionately leading diverse group of individuals unique to their own characteristics and voicing out for equal rights

Lloyd has a vision to share this leadership to his fellow international students to empower unique leaders in their own characteristics which promotes and practice commitment to leadership, defenders of the environment, as well as being advocates of gender, race, disability, and LGBTQI+ community equality, and good governance. More importantly, he is a leader who is committed for the good of all international students with no exception regardless of who and what they are.

Lloyd’s passionate areas revolve around student leadership development, diversity and inclusion, as well as understanding the discrimination acts and equal rights. Throughout the years, he became vehement about the voices of the students, encouraging students to be a part of governance, and advocating for students on the student council level, advocating for underrepresented students in student council level and leading into the legislative process. Lloyd is one of the many quiet achievers who cares not about recognition of work well done. He is a strong advocate for equity, justice, and fair share to all international students.

With selfless attitudes towards others and driven by the desire to help others, he has become advocate for volunteerism and community engagements. He is an active volunteer of Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and Peacebuilders Community back in his home country. He has the passion to go to the peripheries, serve, and educate specially the international students and other vulnerable people in the community. Moreover, it has been challenging for him because as he comes from the LGBTQI+ community and he still feels the judgments and discrimination from the society. That is why, Lloyd actively participates in the LGBTQI+ community campaigns, anti-discrimination initiatives, and international students’ human rights protection work.

He was awarded as study NT ambassador where he strongly assisted his fellow internationals students for easy transition and voice out against inequalities and systematic discrepancies among international students in the wider community. As a Study NT Ambassador Alumnus, he still continues to advocate his support for the promotion of the well-being of International students in Darwin and strongly adheres to the promotion program of the Study NT as a study destination in Darwin. Through such advocacy, he earned a Certificate of Recognition from the Chief Executive Office of the Department of Trade, Business and Innovation in 2019.

As an Active NT student representative, Lloyd has represented international student voice on different national and state levels projects, councils, panels, and events such as: ICEF ANZA, NT International Students Welcome Reception biennial Arafura Games, and CISA National Conference. Volunteering as an executive assistant of the National Equity at CISA he was on the front line on the Council of International Students Australia (CISA) PO Box 18096, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia www.cisa.edu.au Copyright © 2020 Council of International Students Australia Inc. All rights reserved.

national campaigns such as: queer campaigns to diminish homophobia in the community and anti- discrimination campaign to challenge the existing discrimination towards the international students. Lloyd respects other people’s rights as much as he promotes respect for the marginalised members of the community particularly those who still hold strong homophobic fears and discriminatory norms.

During the COVID-19 pandemic crisis in Darwin, Lloyd was one of the four student leaders who initiated the idea and immediately formed the Response Team for the assistance of international students across the territory. The Response Team almost instantly gathered donated grocery items, cooked meals, and welfare packages for distribution to the international students to ensure food security and abolish malnutrition during the economic crisis time.

With the right mind to help the people in need, Lloyd is studying Bachelor of Humanitarian and Community Studies and has been identified as a community leader with a robust potential of excellent student leadership. He is motivated to serve humanity and becoming men and women for others “be happy in the generosity of your passion and love”.

National Education Officer: Zhuoyuan Xie

Hello, my name is Zhuoyuan Xie. I’m running as a candidate for the CISA National Education Officer. As the international students, I clearly know how challenge it is to study abroad alone and land a job in Australia; As the Co-Secretary at SUPRA (Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association), I have worked with people from different backgrounds and supported my dear fellows through thick and thin; As an intern in Readygrad, a leading local company dedicated to improve graduate employability, I have acknowledged the crucial of employability skills and the networking

with professionals in the work place; As the one of the co-host of the National Anti-discrimination Week, I actively listened to students voice from various perspectives and spread out to let our international students’ voice to be heard.

I have noticed pressing challenges our international students faced, and they can be summarized into THREE aspects:

• Culture shock in academic life. This would bother lots of international students in different level of educations due to the differences of education system between home countries and Australia; • High Tuition Fee and living cost increasing the financial burden of international students, especially during pandemic time; • Graduate outcome shows the low employability rate among international students after graduating. This indicates the disadvantage position of international students in the job market.

Thus, as the National Education Officer of CISA, I plan to conduct the following projects to solve the issues during my term:

• Offering academic support to international students during their cross-culture transitions, such as offering academic study kit, or organizing workshops about certain skills required in the academic studies. • Change Education Policy to meet the interest of international students and urge academic institutions or the state government to alleviate the economic burdens of international students through reducing the tuition fee or cut down the rents, etc. • Supporting international students on building career in Australia by collaborate with TSQA, AQSA and Universities Australia to provide international students of internship or working opportunities

To put these into practice, I believe my previous multi-cultural, academic, professional experiences will contribute to the success of plans:

• As a team player, my leadership skills, developed through organizing and involving in heaps of academic and networking events, will play a significant role in achieving the brilliant council mutual goals; • My working experience in the graduate’s recruitment industry will be helped to support our fellow international students to land a job in Australia;

• My negotiation and interpersonal skills will contribute to communicate with the Australian Department of Education, Skills and Employment to facilitate the reform of Education Policy, which to ensure the high-quality education and fair education cost for international students.

Therefore, I believe that I have the ability and qualified to run for this position. My personal skills, years of experience working with international students and my passionate will make the difference. I sincerely want to work for international students. It’s time to turn the game around.

National Postgraduate Officer: Muhammad Omer Khan

Hello fellows! I am Muhammad Omer Khan, currently doing masters as an International Student Officer for GUPSA. I present myself not only as a leader but as a mentor for all the international students. Being an international student myself, I know the problems and hardships we face. A political campaign filled with empty promises and fake agendas is what we have has until now; I solemnly swear to perform my utmost for you and bring about an actual change since I know the roads taken and not taken. Following is what I have been able to achieve as a University’s student officer.

Arranged funds for international students who were largely impacted by the Covid-19 crisis as they were not able to make ends meet. I also organized computer loans for them as they were forced to study from home. Grocery vouchers for the students was also provided. Conferences and seminars were conducted to spread awareness and resolve the challenges students were encountering.

Following are the agendas I will be working on if you stand with me: in the initial quarter, I will help the students in their educational activities. Many of the students have faced difficulties due to Covid- 19 time as they failed to get the grades that they deserve. My team and I will arrange workshops for all such students, making sure that they are provided with remedial classes or extraterritorial sessions

to strengthen their basic grasp of the course and move forward with not only better grades but also greater understanding.

Unemployment is a major variable in the mental wellness of our students. I not only faced cultural diversity, I also had to go through the devastation of being unable to find a job and subsist along with fulltime studies. So I want to advocate for the international students; making sure that they are provided with the job-opportunities as per their skills set. For this, my team and I will build industrial linkages and would hold job fares for all our international students. We would act as a liaison not only ensure job security but would also hold workshops to prepare the students for the job interviews and would train them so they may not face any cultural shock and can excel in the field of their choice.

This is an international platform, and since I have worked with the Prime Minister of Pakistan on various projects as a youth influencer and a social media manager, I know how the political platforms work. I would not only be the voice of all the international students I would make sure that this voice is heard. I intend to ask the government to set a quota for the international students to get jobs so they may be able to get a residence and support their tuition; this would not only ensure their mental well-being but would make them a fine assert for this country’s workforce.

My vision and mission are to stand for the international students to save them from the hardships I once went through. I stood for the rights of students in Pakistan and tend to use my expertise in creating the right and stable platforms for the international students in Australia!

National Undergraduate Officer: Baseerat Jian Wei Teo

My name is Baseerat Teo. I am a 3rd-year law student at Murdoch University. I come from Singapore and have been living in Perth since 2018. I love standing up for others and voicing out for others who Council of International Students Australia (CISA) PO Box 18096, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia www.cisa.edu.au Copyright © 2020 Council of International Students Australia Inc. All rights reserved.

are afraid to do so. As a law student, I believe that every international student should be made aware of their legal rights, employment rights and even housing rights in Australia. I will want to give back to our members an info-booklet on these fundamental rights for international students to be given out by the various international students' department during orientation. By doing so, it enhances our reputation and presence to every student here in Australia. The bulk of the issue pertaining to my role will be the quality of education during the COVID-19 pandemic, employment opportunities for international students during and upon completion of their studies. I will be looking to work closely with education providers, education regulators and industry partners.

I am confident that I am the right person for this role because of my past experiences as the international president at Murdoch. Furthermore, having served my time in the Singapore Armed Forces has taught me a great deal with working with people and communicating promptly and efficiently. I am aware of how big of an impact International Students are in Australia, and I am in awe of how much CISA has done for International students. Picking up from that, I am confident that CISA has a lot more to offer as well. There are countless opportunities and avenues that we can look towards for the future of CISA. The presence of CISA is critical to every international student. I have seen how international students have suffered during such time, I have seen how we reached out to various avenues only to be disappointed. I want to make sure that we can get the support and help we need as international students.

During my time, I organised various cultural events so that international students will not miss their families too much during festive seasons. I organised mental health workshops and offered multiple avenues of help for students that are struggling with adapting to life here in Australia. Furthermore, I have held sporting competitions for students to come together and play sports together to compete for prizes.

I have a 4-step plan for my goals. The first step will be to improve on the education policies during this COVID-19. It is of utmost importance to ensure that international students can access the highest quality of education. I will be looking to work with education providers and education regulators to achieve this. The second step will be to work with education providers to obtain work-integrated learning so that students will be able to attain industry-related experience, which is in conjunction with their course. Thirdly, through seminars and workshops, I aim to ensure that the mental well- being of every student is being cared for. Lastly, a career expo which focuses on the employability of every student upon completion of their course will contribute to the overall growth of the Australian economy.

Achieving every single of my goals which I mentioned above is my desired outcome. I aim to focus on this 4-step plan during my tenure. I am motivated and will ensure that I achieve what I set out to do. Together we can aim to achieve the targeted goals, and I will not stop advocating and lobbying for

international students. During this election, please vote wisely. This is the only way we can use this platform to make a change for international students. We are in this together, and we will make it happen together.

National VET/TAFE Officer: Michael Alvin Paul Sullesta

I am Michael Alvin Paul Sullesta a recipient of the Provincial Scholarship Program of Negros Occidental to undertake Vocational Educational Training studies for Certificate III and IV in Commercial Cookery in the International College of Advanced Education, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Since I arrived in Australia last year, I was privileged enough to be chosen as one of the StudyNT Student Ambassadors for two consecutive years 2019 and 2020 of the Department of Business, Trade and Innovation of the Northern Territory Government.

I advocate for the welfare and well-being of all international students here in the Territory, especially in the VET Sector. I represented VET Students in the ICEF Australia/New Zealand welcoming and meeting of International Agents in Darwin in 2019. I also joined a strong delegation of Study NT Student Ambassadors from Darwin to the CISA Conference in Perth in 2019 which served as my turning point to advance and champion the representation of VET students to CISA and I’d like to inspire other VET students to become actively engaged in this Council.

I believe in the principle of community integration and assimilation through an active role as a volunteer in several communities and student affairs. Amidst a busy demand for school work and doing industry placements as part of my VET course, I actively volunteered myself in the following multicultural events in Darwin; the Arafura Games 2019 for meeting and greeting athletes from different participating countries, Harmony Day Soiree in 2019 for the promotion of multicultural diversity celebration in Darwin, Darwin Festival 2019 as part of the marketing research, Deloitte Survey Focus Group for conducting and collecting information on International Students in the NT,

and Bruce Monroe Tropic Lights as unpaid volunteer meeting and greeting visitors to this light spectacular that ran for 6 months in Darwin from December 2018 to April 2019.

Through my efforts of creating a sense of belongingness and inclusivity to the students of my school at the International College of Advanced Education, I have partnered with CEO, Sean Mahoney to create the IcaeSC (International College of Advanced Education Students Club). It was also my honour to be chosen as its first president. The main goal of the student club is to promote the wellbeing and welfare of its students through activities and events while studying at ICAE.

As a StudyNT Ambassador, I was chosen to participate in the NT October Business Month 2019 to represent International Students in the “Great Debate” on “Are Millenials the Best Generation”, in Alice Springs, Northern Territory. As a good contributor of sound ideas and wide knowledge of student affairs, I was selected to be one of the CISA Executive Assistant in 2019. My experience in CISA this time as a volunteer gave me the opportunity to work with hard-working, passionate and friendly international students from across the country. I was very humbled by being awarded as the best volunteer of CISA for 2020.

I have a very selfless attitude and positive outlook in life as a person. I always see the best of everything even if the situations are not in favour of my expectations. Even at work where I also do my placement at the CoffeeClub, I am also very privileged to be working with people who are fun to be with, very supportive and employers that are always willing to impart new skills. I am really grateful for all the opportunities that were given to me, especially with the Filipino Community through the leadership of Consul John Rivas, my school, International College of Advanced Education, CEO Sean Mahoney, StudyNT Director, Rachel Shanahan for always encouraging and supporting me for all my endeavours especially with the affairs of international students.

It is also my belief that I will be able to share to the rest of the country what we have here in the Territory and that we can make a difference in whatever we do so as long as we believe in ourselves, we are confident and passionate.