DUSA Crew and Rotary Club Box Hill - Leading from the Back of the Room

Vi at the Rotary Club Box Hill

Leadership doesn’t always look like a spotlight. When I volunteered with the DUSA Crew and the Rotary Club Box Hill, I didn’t have a title or microphone. I just wanted to make university life feel warmer and more welcoming for international students like me. 

Each week on Saturday without fail, from 2022 to 2024, I helped distribute groceries, set up events, welcomed students, managed logistics, and stayed late to pack down for the Rotary Club Box Hill, as part of an initiative to support international students with financial stress. Likewise, as an emerging leader with limited exposure and experience within Deakin and Australia, I began my first role as a DUSA Crew, attending events to assist and support new students throughout their journey. I believe these roles significantly shaped my values and set of beliefs as a leader who focused on community and acts of service. Within these roles, I knew how hard it was to be far from home, and I wanted others to feel less alone. I showed up early, asked what more I could do, and took on the unglamorous but essential tasks; the ones that made things run smoothly.

Vi is the person on the right

Vi and the DUSA team during official DUSA events

In these roles, I worked alongside Rotary Club volunteers, DUSA staff, and students from over 20 cultural backgrounds, coordinating weekly grocery distributions that supported more than 75 international students at a time. I managed logistics such as organising food supplies, directing volunteer teams, and ensuring smooth event flow from setup to pack-down. At DUSA events, I took initiative to welcome new students, guide them through services, and resolve on-the-spot issues like transport confusion or missing event materials. These consistent, hands-on contributions built trust with both students and staff, directly improving access to support services and fostering a stronger sense of belonging within the international student community.

Without realizing it myself, over time, I became a familiar and reliable presence. Students remembered the person who helped when they were lost, who smiled, listened, and quietly made things easier. When it came time to vote for the DUSA Council, they chose someone they already trusted to lead; because I had already shown them what leadership looked like. 

This experience shaped the way I lead today. It taught me that service is one of the strongest forms of leadership, and that impact does not always come with a microphone. Sometimes, it starts with showing up and caring enough to help.

I'm very thankful to have received a letter of recommendation from Shel McConachy, DUSA Event Manager and Coordinator, who witnessed my participation in these two roles.

Letter from Shel McConachy (DUSA Event manager)