Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your background and your area of study?
I'm Akshita Sinha, a first-year Masters of Counselling student at Monash University. I have long felt a deep interest in Psychology and Counselling, even though I only had the opportunity to formally study it during my bachelor’s degree in India. Along with my academic interests, I also love writing poems and have been writing since I was 13.
My background in Psychology and Literature helps me understand the different facets of humans, power structures, hierarchies and human expression in the face of challenges.
And for all my academic knowledge, I have learnt that at the core of it, we strive for connection, kindness and compassion.
What is your role within the MGAEC, and what are you hoping to achieve over your term in office?
I am honoured to have been elected as the Women’s Officer for this term at the MGAEC. I am committed to fulfilling this role with integrity, ensuring that every voice is heard and every perspective respected. In today’s global climate, the experiences of women often remain unseen, unheard, and shaped by complex layers of marginalisation.
Hence, I aim to create inclusive opportunities and develop meaningful resources that are thoughtfully tailored to the diverse needs shaped by each individual’s cultural, traditional, and social background. I strive to provide a safe and inclusive space to my graduate committee, as navigating social constructs such as the gender binary, cultural expectations, and systemic inequality presents unique challenges that deserve acknowledgment and support.
What motivated you to join the executive committee? What drives you to make a difference in your graduate student community?
Most of my actions and decisions are driven by an innate need to help people, it feels like my single greatest purpose in life. However limiting that might seem, I have discovered that there is a certain quality of humanity that often goes unnoticed. There are countless ways to help people, so why limit myself to just one? That belief drove me to join the executive committee and continues to motivate me to make a difference in my graduate student community.
Through my own experiences, I understand what it means to challenge the very systems on which this world is built and to push for changes that foster not just survival, but truly living. I am a product of kindness and compassion in the hardest of times, and because of that, I am committed to continuing this cycle of advocacy and support.