Hello, my name is Vi, and this is my video pitch for the Deakin Hallmark Excellence in Leadership Award.

In 2024, I was very honored to be elected as the first Vietnamese international student to ever join the DUSA Council. Being in this position, a position that has never seen someone like me before, has been an incredible journey. As a country girl from rural Vietnam, the first year at university was so overwhelming for me, since I knew nothing about Deakin. I wanted this journey to be easier for other students, which is why I led the DUSA Survival Guide, 35 short engaging videos designed to make essential information simple, memorable, and fun.

This project took me five months of planning and close collaboration with every support services at Deakin. Since its launch in August, I have heard so many amazing feedback from students saying that information has never been so fun or so easy to understand.  The survival guide isn't about visibility, it's about accessibility. For students like myself who learn English much later in life, and for neurodivergent students who find long text-heavy content extremely overwhelming, this video made information easier to observe and to remember.
 
For me, leadership means using creativity, empathy, and lived experience to create change that genuinely helps others. That is the legacy I hope to leave at Deakin!

Thank you so much Hallmark team for considering my appplication!