October came to a close with a celebration of our amazing volunteers at the MGA Annual Volunteer Awards Lunch
Published Date 10/11/2025
The MGA was excited to celebrate our volunteers over lunch with an awards ceremony at the Clayton Campus.
Our wonderful student volunteers gathered to enjoy a mouth-watering meal to celebrate the end of another successful year. This was but a small token of our appreciation for all the time and effort these students have selflessly contributed in 2025.
Over the course of the year, approximately 327 active MGA volunteers contributed a whopping 3,600 hours of service to their community.
“From running events, leading community initiatives, supporting student welfare, to just being that extra set of hands (and smiles) when things get hectic, you’ve been at the heart of it all,” said MGA Events Manager Leilani Hatfield in her opening speech.
Before announcing the winners, Leilani thanked each and every volunteer who has made all these events possible and shared some observations from working with our volunteer community:
“One of my favourite things to see is how quickly friendships form in the volunteer crew. I love those moments when two people start chatting, realise they’re from completely different courses but the same hometown — and by the end of the day they’re planning lunch together. It’s that sense of community that makes volunteering so special — and that’s all because of you."
2025 MGA Volunteers of the Year
Thauhidul Rahi - Campus Explorer Award
“The Campus Explorer Award goes to a volunteer who has gone out of their way to make sure all our students across many of our campuses, including Parkville, Peninsula, the Alfred and Law Chambers feel welcome to our community. There is no MGA Volunteering opportunity that is too far away for them."
Yingxi (Sinny) Zhou - Outstanding Leader
"This person has been instrumental at Caulfield and has consistently been there
to pick up any job and knows exactly what to do before they are even asked."
Jay Sharma - Rising Star
"Our Rising Star award highlights the work of a volunteer who is new to our program but has quickly risen to be one of our top volunteers. Not only did they just start this past semester, but they have already smashed out 29.25 hours!"
Arsalan Iftikhar
“This volunteer has consistently been a positive, motivating force within the program. I will say I have never been more impressed by this person’s work and spirit than I was yesterday, fumbling at trying to remember how to run a pop-up grocer. This person not only stepped forward, but also made sure that the new volunteers who haven’t experience a pop-up grocer at Clayton felt supported and a part of our team."
Community Impact Award
This was awarded to our top three volunteers and leaders whose dedication has led to significant, positive change within our community, whether that be leading our sports deliveries, or engaging with the wider community:
- Yinfang Su
- Christina Lye
- Kimberley Wee
Most Dedicated Volunteers
Again, we had so many stellar contenders we had to split this category in three! These volunteers have put in the hours to give back to their community:
- Zahra Panguriseng (62.25 hours)
- Chenfei Shen (43 hours)
- Keval Joshi (35 hours)
Most Dedicated Leaders
Similarly, we honoured the top three volunteer leaders who have put in a tremendous number of hours:
- Joseph, Thanh Luong (75.5 hours)
- Ansh Goel (59.75 hours)
- Tied between Zhiheng Meng and Natania Dsouza (50.5 hours)
Honourable mentions:
- Gesia Afifah
- Grace Chung
- Jannatul Lima
- Jatin Yadav
- Jay Rohit Sharma
- Kunal Kapoor
- Leangsraing Sour
- Mohak Bhatnagar
- Muhammed Vilayatteri
- Rosalia Iru
- Shrishti Mund
- Smriti Venkatraman
- Urja Ingole
- Yung En Chiang
- Zahra Panguriseng
Interested in joining our volunteer community in 2026?
You can submit an expression of interest to volunteer in 2026 here.