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60 seconds with … Lynette Phuong17 June 2009
Name: Lynette Phuong What is it about your course and the University that helped you choose Monash? Monash was a perfect choice for me. Not only is it just a bus ride away from home, it offered German -- during high school I had big hopes to further study the language and spend some time over there. Last year I received a scholarship from the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst and spent the summer at the University of Freiburg. My course allows me to pursue my interests while enabling me to specialise in areas such as international commerce, German and Spanish. What is your favourite subject and why? Spanish -- I always look forward to class. This enthusiasm stems from the teaching staff, in particular Marisa Cordela from the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics. She teaches with a warm passion. As learning Spanish and German allows me to experience the beauty of another culture. What challenges are ahead for you this year? Time management. I'm greedy. I love my studies, position in retail and volunteering with the Australian Red Cross. I also love spending time with my family and friends, shopping and having fun. The challenge for me is wanting it all and making it all work. Sometimes I wish time could freeze so I could catch up on things missed. What will be your ideal career when you graduate? As convener of the Refugee and Asylum Seeker Youth Holiday Program and with my parents being once refugees, I am determined to pursue a career that enables me to help the world's most vulnerable people. If that entails empowering women in the Middle East, or teaching kids the importance of education in South East Asia or helping build a water sanitation system for a community, then so be it, that's where I will be. Can you tell us about your involvement in the Red Cross Victorian Advisory Committee? The Victorian Youth Advisory Committee is an advisory committee of the Australian Red Cross Board with a focus on youth opportunities, programs and policies in our local community. My work on the committee has provided me with the exciting opportunity to attend the World Red Cross and Red Crescent "Youth on the Move" conference in Solferino, Italy. What do you want to achieve while in Solferino? I go to Solferino optimistic about the future direction of the Australian and International Red Cross and Red Crescent Society. As a young humanitarian, I want to know that my volunteering efforts are contributing to positive change on a global platform. I want to build strong working relationships, international friendships and humanitarian ideals with delegates from other national societies, and hunger to learn and grow from the experience. What is your favourite destination and why? Santorini, Greece, it must be my obsession for the beautiful blue ocean view. Nha Trang, Vietnam, is another favourite. The island is spectacular. I've only been there once but I long to go back. What is the best piece of advice you have received? It's up to you to write the music to your encore and then go out and dance to it. What is something about yourself that most of your fellow students wouldn't know? I'm naturally left-handed. I 'converted' so to speak at the age of six, however, use my left hand for pretty much everything - yes that makes me ambidextrous. |
