MGAEC Executive Committee 2024 - 2025

Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your background and your area of study?

I am an international student from Sri Lanka undertaking my PhD in the department of microbiology. My academic interests involve looking at how bacteria interact with our immune system at the molecular level to cause severe disease. My hobbies include swimming, badminton and a love of fantasy fiction novels. 

What motivated you to join the executive committee? What drives you to make a difference in your graduate student community?

My new role on the MGAEC as the international student's officer focuses on representation and advocacy for international graduate students at Monash. At times the issues that international students face can seem insurmountable particularly with the current rhetoric around international students in the political landscape. My goals over the coming term are to ensure that concerns over visa processes, post-degree employability have concrete steps taken to address these issues.

Having served on the MGAEC for the past 2 terms, I plan to leverage my experience in lobbying and my networks to ensure the concerns of international students are heard both within the university and the wider community. It is my belief that international students bring a vibrancy to Australia that adds to its reputation as a haven of education and growth.

What motivated you to join the executive committee? What drives you to make a difference in your graduate student community?

The reason I was motivated to run for the MGAEC in 2022, right after COVID, is simply because I was inspired. The dedicated staff, the driven reps and the welcoming volunteers all played a part in this. To me it seemed that everyone who was a part of the MGA had been instilled with a desire to have a positive impact and that truly inspired me. I remember struggling so much as a first year international student and the MGA gave me the tools to help other students the way I needed it as a first year. I would not have been able to achieve the impact I did without the support the MGA provided me.

Giving back to your community, is more than looking great on your CV, it is your chance to connect with new people who you may not have met under normal circumstances. Being a part of the MGA gives you a connection not just to other students but to something much bigger than simply one person but to an ideal and purpose to do good for all Monash graduate students. That is the opinion of one international student who started with only curiosity and passion for helping others.