Challenge Project

Work Experience

Week 3 - Acrobatics

Try something new for 30 days

Matt Cutts is an engineer at Google. He says - "The next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not, so why not think about something you have always wanted to do and give it a shot for the next 30 days?"

Nike Women

"You don't have to be someone special or anything special to achieve something amazing, you've just got to have a dream, believe in it and work hard."

- Jessica Watson (Youngest girl to circumnavigate the world unassisted)

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow"

-Mary Anne Radmacher

More about Catherine...

"I am inspired by people who are true to themselves and considerate and compassionate towards others expecting nothing in return."

An organisation I really like is Givit http://www.givit.org.au because it works in a clever way to match the needs of people with people who may have something to give.  It helps to give a sense of others less fortunate than ourselves and a very practical way to help.

So far, the greatest adventures of my life have been when I have put myself out on a limb and taken a risk – scary, but always very memorable and an opportunity to learn so much.  Any travelling I have done has always been a great adventure too.

Something I’m really proud of is my family.

One of the best things about being a woman is not being constrained by stereotypes if we can allow ourselves to do that.

One of the hardest things about life is trying to balance all the demands we have. I deal with it by prioritising those which have the biggest effects on those I love.

When I need to take a break my favourite things are walking in the bush or on the beach, Nia dancing, swimming in the ocean and reading a great book.

One of the most amazing people I’ve ever met is each of my three children as they teach me so much about myself.

If I could meet anyone in the world, it would be anyone who crosses my path.  Everyone has something amazing to teach, tell and show.

Kim says...

"I am inspired by people who say yes, accept a challenge, give it a go, have passion for everything and compassion for everyone."


An organisation I really like is the Silver Lining Foundation (http://www.silverlining.net.au/default.aspx) because the name says it all... there’s always a silver lining around any dark cloud. My family has been involved with The Silver Lining Foundation since its inception and the stories I’ve heard have brought me to tears on many occasions both through grief and happiness. You can read about some of the success stories of people involved in the Foundation here.

So far, the greatest adventures of my life have been in situations where I’ve had to overcome adversity, for example... at 18, I went to the USA on my own to meet up with “the love of my life”, promptly got dumped and spent 6 weeks on my own fending for and learning about myself.
Also, at 18 and 21,  I had 2 separate car accidents breaking my back and pelvis plus a number of other bits and pieces, but still managed to finish my university degree lying flat in a hospital bed.


Something I’m really proud of is…. 
Being part of the Qld State swimming team and breaking the Australian record for the 4x100m freestyle relay event. I knew those 11 training sessions per week would pay off at some stage!!

One of the best things about being a woman is our inbuilt emotional intelligence. Anyone can be a smarty trousers with letters after their name, but combine that with being able to read and understand people dynamics and it makes life so much more interesting and meaningful. But really, what isn’t there to love about being a woman!!

One of the hardest things about life is managing our expectations... I often hear myself complaining that life is hard or “not going my way”. But when I stop to think about why it’s hard, it’s because whatever is happening is not meeting my expectations of how it should be happening. Simply by voicing what my expectations are, 9 times out of 10 I realise that my expectations were self centred or unrealistic... By thinking about the bigger picture rather than my own expectations of what should happen, all those little (and many big) troubles seem to disappear.

When I need to take a break my favourite things are rollerblading, hanging out with my gorgeous hubby (we don’t get to see each other much with all those kids!), travelling or planning our next trip away (just spent 2 weeks at a Skate Farm in Thailand), or learning something new (e.g. I just got my boat and jet-ski licence!).

One of the most amazing people I’ve ever met is.... hhmmm I meet amazing people every day, from a mother dealing with the loss of her 2 year old daughter after she drowned in a pond, to a friend dealing with cancer, to a teenage child who had the courage to get up and sing in a school musical, to the man on the bus who paid for a stranger’s bus fare as they forgot their wallet. There are so many awesome people out there!

If I could meet anyone in the world, it would be the Dalai Lama. Not only because of the amazingly beautiful and peaceful person he is, but because he recognises and embraces the ever changing world of politics, economics and finance. Rather than hiding behind centuries of religious beliefs, he’s accepted that the world has and will continue to change, and has adapted his Buddhist teachings to better reflect our modern world.

Family :)

Skating in Thailand

Whoo hoo! Jumping off a waterfall in Thailand!

More about Maren....

"I am inspired by people who have a different perspective than me, by people who are passionate about what they believe, and by people who stand up and have an opinion about what happens to them and to the world."


By day I am the Deputy Director for YWCA Australia, which really means I work with all the local YWCAs around Australia developing programs, national events, national policy and communications.

By night I’m found in my house with my partner and two little kids playing, cooking, planning fun weekends and reading lots of books.

An organisation I really like is The Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Non-Profit Studies, http://www.qut.edu.au/business/about/research-centres/australian-centre-for-philanthropy-and-nonprofit-studies, because they are teaching people how to be better at saving the world.

So far the greatest adventures in my life have been travelling, living and working in other countries, working at a canoe camp and taking young people out into the woods for weeks at a time, and having a family.

I am really proud of myself for testing my values and beliefs, and living according to what I believe.

One of the best things about being a woman is that we are so powerful in so many different ways. No matter where we live, what work we do, what friends we have or how much money we earn, we can influence significant changes in our communities and in the world.

One of the hardest things in life is doing the boring day to day work/chores that needs to be done. I deal with it by doing chores first and getting them out of the way. Then I can really be free when doing other things I enjoy a lot more.

When I need to take a break my favourite things are to exercise, to read, to cook, and to share meals with friends.

One of the most amazing people I’ve ever met is Caroline Mason because she has done so much for women in Queensland and in Australia. And she is a really lovely person who takes time to help other women.  http://www.communities.qld.gov.au/q150-women/1990/index.shtml 

If I could meet anyone in the world I would like to meet Sojourner Truth and listen to her speak. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sojourner_Truth 

More about Linda...

"I am inspired by people who
give their best shots to everything they do.  When I see people being their best – regardless of the level of their achievements – I am inspired beyond the beyond." 

Some of the so called ‘smartest’ and ‘best positioned’ people I have known have achieved nothing compared to those who may have had ‘less’ but have given life their all.  (And by the way … it is very contagious!  Always choose to surround yourself with people who are up and motivated and giving life their best shots, and choose to remove yourself from the company of those who are negative and wallowing in helplessness!)

One of the best things about being a woman is …
that these days you can achieve anything you have the skills for and motivation to achieve.  Whilst there are still not as many women as there should be in some fields, women now play a key role in all fields.  Go Girls!

One of the hardest things about life is …
that nothing comes without considerable sustained effort.  What you get out of life is directly proportional to what you put in.  My big advice to you …. put LOTS in and you will get LOTS out.  Put LITTLE in and you will get LITTLE out ….

When I need to take a break my favourite thing to do is …
take long walks.  My favourites include walking along the bay or through the bush.

One of the most amazing people I have ever met is …
my (late) grandmother.  (She would be about 112 years old if she was still alive ….).  She was the wisest person I ever knew, and she always made me feel really good about myself.

If I could meet anyone in the world it would be …
God because there are a few things I don’t understand very well (and don’t always like very much) that happen in life, and would like to have his (or her) answers on why those things happen the way they do.

An organisation I really like is …
 One Sole (www.onesole.com) because they do the best shoes I have ever come across.  You buy the soles you like (different size heels etc), and the tops you like (straps, flip-flops, gladiators etc) separately, and then you clip the tops on and off the soles to give you a trillion different pairs of shoes.  Such a great idea!  You have to check it out …..!!!!

Me and my husband, Anthony.  He is the love of my life.  (We were girlfriend and boyfriend in High School.  Can you believe it ….?)

Me and my beautiful  step-daughters on Portabello Road in London.  They were sooooo excited (and I was too ….).

5 minutes with Phoebe...

"I am inspired by people who are not afraid to speak their mind, stand up for what they believe in, and stand up for people that may need a stronger voice than their own."




An organisation I really like... is the World Economic Forum which is an independent international organisation committed to improving the the world by working with business, political, academic and other leaders of society. www.weforum.org

Another website that’s really great is TED, a non-profit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It has excellent videos and presentations from very interesting, clever and innovative people from all over the world, about all kinds of things. www.ted.com

So far, the greatest adventures of my life have been moving to England on a University exchange. It was an amazing experience and I’m still friends with many of the people from Uni. I also backpacked around Europe by myself for 3 months, which was a great adventure. I learnt a lot about myself, about my strengths and weaknesses, about communicating with people from all walks of life and the best part was seeing some incredible places!

Something I’m really proud of is being strong enough in myself and my beliefs to speak my mind and stand up for what I believe in. I am proud that I am confident and have a strong enough sense of self to not worry about what others think of me, especially when challenging the status quo.

One of the best things about being a woman is multi-tasking! And having the innate ability of mixing intuition and feeling with information and opportunity to get the best out of people and situations.

If I could meet anyone in the world, it would be Sir Ken Robinson, who is a world leader in the development of education, creativity and innovation. The things I like the most about Ken’s message is that we all have different passions and strengths, and they should be all valued equally,  that we all learn in different ways and not one way is better than another; that creativity is essential to being innovative; and that we are all born with natural talents and by following your passion you will be happy and successful! http://sirkenrobinson.com 

One of the hardest things about life is having to deal with people and opinions that may make you feel less than special, or those that make you doubt your qualities or strengths or abilities.
I deal with it by surrounding myself with strong, like-minded people who provide support and advice when I need it. I also think by doing the things I love and keeping myself physically fit, strong and healthy, makes me mentally and emotionally strong which helps me deal with stressful situations better.

When I need to take a break my favourite things are reading, playing sport, being at the beach, and being with good friends.

One of the most amazing people I’ve ever met is my Mum because she is a generous, happy, loving and brave woman who puts her family first and is always offering a helping hand.

Linda Bywater - Director, The Growth Objective

Linda is a Strategy/Marketing/Business Development Executive, working with large multi-national corporations. In other words, Linda helps big businesses figure out what activities they should pursue to best generate better, faster or cheaper products for customers and big profits for the business owners - while also figuring out how they can do this in the most sustainable way to improve the environments and communities in which they operate.

Linda has worked all around the world (for over 13 years in fact!) and considers her travels amongst the greatest adventures of her life. She says that it has helped her  to realise how many different and wonderful approaches and attitudes (cultures) to life there are and how lucky we are to have Australia as our ‘home’.

Read more about Linda here.


Phoebe Tucker - Project Officer, Skills Queensland

As a Project Officer at Skills Queensland, Phoebe works with colleagues to manage projects and programs which build the skills of Queenslanders, ensuring programs are on track to achieve objectives while also providing communications and marketing support.

Phoebe loves working with people and got involved in Y Bloom to become more connected with her community and to meet other like minded women who believe in developing the leadership capacity and confidence of young women, something which Phoebe, as a relatively young woman herself, sees a lot of value in.

Outside of work, Phoebe plays re-bound volleyball with friends, loves reading and getting up to the Whitsundays as much as possible to spend time with her family.

Read more about Phoebe here.

Catherine Raff – Youth Health Nurse

Catherine works in high schools supporting students and delivering health programs and is also a very busy mum.  Outside of work, she loves spending time with her family, friends, partner and kids watching movies, swimming, dancing, taking walks or reading a great book.

An experienced traveller, Catherine also enjoys giving back to her community, meeting new people and values new experiences to enhance her day to day work – a key reason for getting involved in Y Bloom. She really believes in preventative health programs and the way in which programs like Y Bloom encourage girls to have confidence in themselves to become more connected in their community and world, a really important factor in health and wellbeing.

Read more about Catherine here.


Caterina Sestili - Co-Director of Direct Care Australia

As the Founding Director and current Co-Director of Direct Care Australia (DCA), Caterina is responsible for the overall management and development of the operations of DCA.  Caterina has held a senior executive role with DCA for the past 15 years delivering primary and community health care projects in aged care, disability, mental health, child and youth health.

Originally from Adelaide, South Australia, in 2010 Caterina expanded DCA into Queensland and her current focus is on delivering a highly responsive nursing and personal support workforce to Queensland Hospitals, Nursing Homes and the Community.

Caterina's qualifications include a BA (Hons) Politics, a Graduate Certificate in Health Services Management, a Masters in Human Services Management & Policy, Advanced Diploma of Quality Auditing (ISO 9001 Quality & Safety), Certificate IV in Fitness, and a Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment.

Read more about Caterina here.

Week 2 - Ariels

(Here's the first few - more to come!)

Creative Rapping

Watch Stephen Colbert rap it out to Alicia Key's New York:

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There’s nothing you can’t do

-Alicia Keys

Using Video and Photography To Tell Stories

Nigel Barker, Host of "America's Next Top Model" and renowned photographer, activist, and filmmaker, shares his tips on taking a cause-worthy photograph:

Andrew Jenks, award-winning host of MTV's "World of Jenks," talks about the steps involved in filming your cause.

About YWCA

Y Bloom is a new initiative of YWCA QLD, a non-profit organisation committed to supporting Queensland communities and women to lead change and achieve their potential.

Y Bloom is a leadership program that focuses on creative thinking, problem solving and real developmental experiences. It is designed specifically for Queensland girls of all backgrounds, abilities and interests. It aims to bring out their strengths, ideas and talents, build confidence and support them in realising their aspirations. 

For more information or to get involved, contact info@yq.org.au.

About the Mentors...(more to come)

Maren Strachan - Executive Director YWCA Australia

Born in Minnesota, USA, Maren grew up endlessly wishing for warmer weather. After receiving her BA in Speech, Theater and Communications from St. Olaf College in Minnesota she became a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Central African Republic, working as a health volunteer. It doesn’t get much hotter than Africa! Upon returning home Maren started working in the not-for-profit sector in Minneapolis where she found her passion for working with young people, schools, families and the arts. After receiving an MA in Occupational Therapy from St. Catherine’s University she and her husband moved to New Zealand and later moved to Australia. Maren started working for the YWCA in Sydney as the Leadership Coordinator, and happily moved to Brisbane in 2007 to share her passions for working with young people, schools, families and the arts with the Brisbane community. She and her husband are thrilled to be here, and excited about all the opportunities in this lovely state.

Read more about Maren here

Kim Hughes - Head of Client and Mandate Services at QIC

Kim is the Head of Client and Mandate Services at QIC. She manages a team of terrific people to help their clients (Qld Treasury, Super funds etc) understand what’s going on with their investments and to create investment solutions for them. Kim is usually found juggling the activities and personal needs of her 9 kids - 2 fantastic biological kids (12 and 14), 5 amazing step kids (7, 11, 14, 17, & 20) a daughter-in-law (16) and a gorgeous granddaughter (16 months)! She spends a lot of time listening and helping them get through life’s little challenges with smiles on their faces! She is also currently the Manager of her daughter’s soccer team, on the organising committee for her son’s 8 week school trip to Germany, building a house in Mackay, and coordinating her house renovations. But more importantly, she's the reigning champion in her evening round robin table tennis championships – although not for long as these seem to have taken on quite a competitive spirit!

Read more about Kim here

Caring for Yourself or A Friend

Caring about about community, creativity and leadership are important but more important is caring for yourself and your health. Without your health, it is hard to reach out and support others so check out these sites and make sure your equipped to know where to go, who to talk to and how to help a friend when life gets tough.

Reachout is a service to help you take charge of your health and wellbeing. It is a confidential service:

Headspace has got your back! Headspace can help with a range of common mental health issues (more common than you think!). Check out their site for more information and fact sheets: 

Getting Involved in Something You Care About

“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Step 1 - What do you care about?

Getting connected, or getting involved is about finding people and organisations that care about the same things you do. Knowing what matters to you takes some experience though.

There's no right or wrong thing to care about. The important thing is to start exploring to find the things that matter most to you....DoSomething.org is a good place to start.

Step 2 - What are people already doing to CHANGE what I care about?

To be informed, you need to visit good quality news sources to find out more about what's happening in the world and what the issues are. Some of the best news sources are ABC, BBC and Time Magazine.

You also need to know who the big thinkers are in that field and what they have to say about it, and what they think should be happening. Check out TED for some really inspirational ideas....

Step 3 - What can I do? How can I help? Who will I work with?

There are limitless ways to create change and influence decision makers about your cause.   Be creative.   Problem solve.  Consider what is currently happening.   Connect the dots.   Think about how you can add value to what is currently being done.

Here's just a few "How to" videos created by DoSomething.org.

 

  

Participate. Knowledge is very important but EXPERIENCE (doing stuff) is where you learn and achieve the most.

Be open to opportunities to connect with and help others who share the same cause - click here for a directory of Queensland not-for-profit organisations. 

Did you find an organisation that shares your cause? What do you think about how they represent the issue? Would you like to support them with your time or skills?

Brain Pickings

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

Herman Cain

If you're a bit of a reader and up for some really challenging material on finding what you love and doing it extraordinarily well, click on the link below and subscribe to Brain Pickings...

“I believe that every person is born with talent.”

 Maya Angelou

“Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself."

 Sophia Loren

Week 1 - Hoops and Juggling

(Click on any picture to scroll through them as a larger slide show)