Earlier this month the Widening Participation department’s LEAP Macquarie Mentoring (Refugee Mentoring) program hosted an evening in celebration of National Refugee Week.

With focus on promoting awareness and discussion surrounding  issues faced by refugees in Australia, the evening highlighted the great work the program has accomplished over the last four years in support of high school students from refugee backgrounds.

A video about the mentoring program was premiered at the event, and a panel discussion was held about the experiences of the program and the effect it is having on wider refugee issues in Australia.

Panelists included past Macquarie Mentors Maxwell Vanday and Tahmina Ansari, who spoke about their experiences coming to Australia as refugees and the positive impact mentoring other students from refugee backgrounds has had on them.

Vice-Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton expressed immense pride in the work the program has achieved and the number of lives it has touched and changed since it began.

“Programs like LEAP provide a valuable service to students who need it most,” he said. “The insight, experience, ambition and ability that students in this program bring to us makes our student body richer, our campus more vibrant, and our University a more interesting place to work and study.”

Read more about the Macquarie Mentoring (Refugee Mentoring) program.

For more information please contact LEAP Program Coordinator Robert Ephraums (robert.ephraums@mq.edu.au).