Vietnamese People of Geelong
My competence as a student leader was also presented in one of my proudest achievements in organising the Mid-Autumn Festival in September 2023 as a Community and Education Officer at Vietnamese People of Geelong (VPG), establishing the very first Vietnamese committee in Geelong and organising a cultural event that brought together 200+ Vietnamese people in-person for the first time in regional Victoria. By addressing the unavailability of an officially established committee for the Vietnamese community in Geelong, my goal has been to step up as a community leader contributing to the multi-cultural mosaic of the city and the further city-wide sustainability of cultural harmony.
Since the first day the co-founders of VPG and I started to plan for the event, there was no day throughout the preparation time that I did not contact the team to discuss, ask, plan, assign, update, and repeat the cycle. From a very small team of 3 people with a strong aspiration to make a meaningful impact on the cultural life of Vietnamese families, children, refugees, working adults, and students, I was able to lead the recruitment of volunteers, rallying support from a team of 20+ individuals supporting the event organisation.
Stacy Doan as a Community and Education Officer - VPG Executive with the team of VPG Volunteers
Stacy Doan as a Co-Host of the VPG's Mid-Autumn Festival
Working with volunteers of diverse age ranges and cultural backgrounds, with the youngest one at 18 years of age who was a student and the oldest 54-year-old one who was a former university professor, I seriously considered the matter of creating an inclusive and supportive environment where everyone was inspired to be open for collaboration with a team of diverse workforce. Keeping the importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the back of my mind, I hosted multiple education and training sessions within the team, ensuring the internal environment within VPG facilitated the sense of teamwork.
The experience of working with every individual in the group of 20+ volunteers and more importantly bringing everyone together for the common meaningful cause, was challenging yet fulfilling. The success of VPG’s Mid-Autumn Festival hosted for the first time in Geelong where it was supported by the Member of Parliament (MP), the City Councillor, the most popular Geelong-based newspaper, 15+ private and public enterprises and 200+ attendees remarkably reflected the power of leadership and collaboration to create an unprecedented milestone for the community.
VPG's Mid-Autumn Festival with 200+ attendees with diverse age range and cultural backgrounds