On Friday July 2, YO Bendigo supported and attended the Central Victorian Indigenous Careers Expo, joined by over 80 students from all across Victoria.
The day started with a wonderful Smoking Ceremony to warmly welcome everyone on the front steps. Inside the Ulumbarra was a huge number of stalls for students to explore, offering many exciting opportunities and career pathways!
We are proud to have supported Leroy Miller, BSSC and YO Media alumni, and Ayva Ryan, current year 11 student, to MC the event through the Victorian Governments Engage! program. They did such an amazing job!
Mitch Tambo, proud Gamillaraay man and Australia’s Got Talent finalist shared his experiences with past struggles, highlighting the importance of holding on to your own path regardless of what your friends are doing. Hayley Mansfield – Director of BDAC, and a panel of First Nations people also shared their pathways, experiences and lessons, followed by a beautiful compilation of videos featuring words of wisdom from former BSSC students.
Over at City of Greater Bendigo & YO Bendigo stall we spoke with a number of enthusiastic young people who were keen to know how to get involved at YO Bendigo and what we could offer to them. Many students wanted to book into the training sessions we offer such as Responsible Serving of Alcohol, First Aid and White Card training to help them secure employment. Others wanted to hear about the work experience we could offer them in our programs such as the YO Media team and YO Events team.
It was a fantastic day of exploring pathways and careers for all the Koorie students present at the Central Victorian Indigenous Careers Expo.
Here’s some words of wisdom that Mitch Tambo shared with us at the Expo that we think all young people should hear!
“It’s all about saying ‘yes’ to the good things and saying ‘no’ to the bad things”
“I want you to know that you deserve the best. Never count yourself out—you are worth it: you’re worth more than you’ll ever know.”
Thanks to BSSC for organising such a wonderful event - we look forward to attending again next year!
