The Young Leaders Program

The Young Leaders Programs, sponsored by Western Chances, offered Year 12 student, Hao Truong, the opportunity to broaden his outlook on learning and study, practice leadership skills and consider his future directions. “It was a life-changing experience!”

Here’s Hao’s review of the Young Leaders Programs.

The Young Leaders Program was a vibrant camp hosted at Trinity College in Melbourne University. It offered a range of educational activities as well as personal development, interacting with a great number of people. The special aspect of this camp was that as well as domestic students, international students were also invited to take part in the special program. This gave me an opportunity to meet many wonderful people and learn their culture, slang and mannerisms. It really made me realise how many people in the world are similar to us, only semi-separated by a language barrier.

As well as having other students to keep you company, there were also mentors to guide us at the camp. These mentors were amazing people, it cannot be expressed in words how enjoyable it was to be around them. I had many thought-provoking discussions with them, with great amounts of advice being passed down. The fond memories produced with them will remain with me for a good part of my life. I will always look up to them as role models as they have had such a strong positive influence on me. 

Broadly, the activities were very hands on, as I was enrolled into the 'Science and Engineering' week. Educational activities ranged from public speaking, rocket launches, creating an electrical engine; while the 'fun' activities involved karaoke night, giving the international students a tour around the city and Zumba. Lectures by professionals were also given, with topics including the various spaces in maths and aerodynamics. The time was made more enjoyable by the amazing people who participated. 

I entered this camp with high expectations, with the mentors claiming that it would change my life, and to be frank, it did. This experience has given me so many unforgettable memories that have changed me as a person and also changed my views of the world. The opportunity to be Valedictory for the closing night has been a great honour for me. I was extremely fortunate to attend this camp and I have Western Chances to thank for that. I cannot appreciate the people at this camp enough, I really hope I get to meet them again in my lifetime.