Deakin University
Deakin Engagement and Access Program (DEAP)
I started my leadership adventure dedicating myself to supporting regional Victorian communities by getting involved with the Deakin Engagement and Access Program (DEAP) as a Mentor of Deakin (MoD). Among diverse Students Helping Students programs, I chose DEAP as my first engagement with the university since I was very much interested in DEAP’s mission - to help promote equity and inclusion in education across underprivileged areas in regional Victoria.
Stacy Doan in her DEAP uniform during the first day with DEAP program
Keeping that mission at the back of my mind, I established my commitment to facilitate and present at different educational events, workshops and seminars as a part of DEAP programs for secondary and highschool students with underprivileged backgrounds. Sharing my experience as an international student in the health sector, I supported students in Geelong, Western Heights, Hopper Crossing, Ballarat and many other regional areas to be well-informed about opportunities for tertiary education and career development. Reaching out up to 200 students at each event means that my team and I were able to make a remarkable influence onto diverse student cohorts to help them overcome socioeconomic barriers.
With the commitment for DEAP programs, my emerging leadership was guided by my desire to support the student communities in regional suburbs. Certain sets of my leadership characteristics were sharpened including the ability to nurture my empathy demonstrating genuine care for the mentees, the resilience to stay committed to the meaningful purposes despite a plethora of challenges to balance between my study, work and volunteering roles, and the positive mindset with a can-do attitude empowering students to drive their passion for education.
DeakinTALENT Ambassador Program
Laying my foundations in the journey of creating a social impact with DEAP, I continued my leadership efforts in supporting the student community by working as a DeakinTALENT Ambassador. With the desire to extend my leadership impact onto diverse aspects of the university environment, I decided to advocate for the improved accessibility of student-centred employment support at Deakin Waurn Ponds and Waterfront.
Stacy Doan with Deakin on-campus students at DeakinTALENT promotional stall
By coordinating with fellow ambassadors to represent DeakinTALENT and moderate engaging activities at the interactive pop-up stalls and events, I aimed to help students enhance their understanding about work-related matters and yield positive outcomes in both pre-graduate and post-graduate job applications. I also liaised with the DeakinTALENT’s social media coordinator to help build the interactive promotional videos educating students about DeakinTALENT resources and how to make the most out of them in an application - my goal in DeakinTALENT was always to help students achieve important career milestones.
My favourite part of contributing to DeakinTALENT was the fruitful experience that I gained in my on-campus interaction with students, since I always believe that I learnt as much from the new students to whom I promoted DeakinTALENT services as they did from me, and how beautiful the experience could be - I realised that every conversation I shared with students was a learning opportunity once I owned the growth mindset. In hindsight, I came to understand that building the growth mindset was an important step to become an excellent leader, as every leader should be a lifelong learner.
I was also recognised by my colleagues as an enthusiastic and inspiring ambassador who demonstrated great leadership by contributing to enhance connection within the team and bringing staunch enthusiasm to every on-campus engagement. People would never see me without the constant source of energy and a smile on my face at DeakinTALENT stalls since positivity and enthusiasm were always the elements of my presentation.
Stacy Doan celebrated with Deakin students who won DeakinTALENT prizes
Stacy Doan and a Deakin student during Orientation week with DeakinTALENT
Students as Partners Project
Taking advantage of the transferable skills I gained in DEAP and DeakinTALENT programs, I decided to apply these skills to create more impact in a discipline-specific project - a project that might need my knowledge in STEM where I can put my expertise in Health Science into practical use. That was the reason why once the application for the Student as Partners (SaP) project in Health Science was opened, I knew that I needed to put myself out there to help the project achieve its mission.
For the course of 3 months, my fellow colleagues and I were responsible for developing a student-centred, interactive and accessible learning platform with Language Learning Advisers from the Office of Dean of Students to support first-year Science students in completing laboratory reports and scientific assignments. When challenges emerged, I decided to step up and take the lead for sections regarding interpreting, calculating, and presenting scientific data, striving to go beyond the original task allocation to help the project develop within a very limited time frame.
Aiming to address the academic obstacles new students would face in the first trimester, I came to realise that the experience I gained along the way also helped me shape my leadership identity - a great leader is always able to establish a clear vision of where they are headed and maximise their proactiveness even in the most challenging scenarios. The meaningful goal I set at the start reminded me of the reasons why I initially got involved with the initiative, kept me resilient throughout the toughest time of the project and guided my leadership competence.
Stacy Doan with her poster about Report Writing for Health Science students project
Stacy Doan with her fellow colleagues during the Students As Partners 2022 Showcase
Student Experience Officer Program
Up to this point, I had enriched my work experience with various on-campus engagements in 4 different faculties at the university. I was now ready to take on a leadership role where I could put together the elements of leadership I already gained and step out of my comfort zone to see how my leadership could create an impact for my community. That was why I applied to become one of the very first Student Experience Officers (SEO) at Deakin Student Services.
Managing a team of Student Experience Ambassadors (SEA) to support new students during their first trimester at university and throughout different student-centred on-campus events, I was known for my great enthusiasm and energy as a leader. Leading a team through a very busy time during Orientation was not an easy task, yet my team and I were proud to be able to support new student cohorts to adapt into new university life and enjoy the student-centred events to the fullest.
My tactic for driving my team through this busy time was to have the eagerness to roll up my sleeves and get involved in doing any tasks if necessary, as I believe that although delegation is important, no task is underneath a passionate leader. That was why students would never see me only stand at one spot to direct my team - they would often see me run around the campus to help out the SEA team fulfil their responsibility, noticing the confused facial expression of new students on their first days at university and actively approaching them first to offer my support. I simply could not … turn off my “SEO mode” even if I am off duty as this becomes a routine of mine when I come across any students on campus seeking help to address any emerging matters.
Stacy Doan managing her Student Experience Ambassadors Team during Orientation Week
Stacy Doan during one of her Orientation shifts at Deakin Waurn Ponds campus