Meet Mei

Mei has recently moved to Tasmania from Malaysia. Currently a full-time student, she was looking for further opportunities to gain skills, confidence and connections in her new home. Centacare Evolve Housing’s capacity building programs, Build Up Tassie and Inspiring Future Leaders came at the perfect time.

Mei has prior experience in engineering but has struggled to get involved in the local community and has faced barriers to meaningful employment in Tasmania. For a year and a half, she has been dropping resumes to local businesses without response or feedback. This was very disheartening, and she started to feel disconnected.

She first heard about Centacare Evolve Housing’s programs through her local Jobs Hub. She applied for Inspiring Future Leaders first and, as she was researching the program, came across Build Up Tassie. Mei participated in Build Up Tassie on Mondays and Fridays, and Inspiring Future Leaders on Tuesdays, balancing this with her studies and some employment.

At first, Mei had her reservations saying, “the older I get, the more I feel scared to meet new people,” however she says, “I was eager to connect with different people and I didn’t want to lose any opportunity…”

“…I believe everything can happen as long as I take action”.

After participating in both programs simultaneously, Mei says that Build Up Tassie and Inspiring Future Leaders have contributed to her personal and professional life in different ways.

Mei describes how Build Up Tassie helped her to draw on her previous professional construction experience. Her new practical skills and existing knowledge were put to the test as the Build Up Tassie crew made community projects including picnic tables, benches and planter boxes for a local community garden. She says that this process built up confidence that she had lost, reminding her that she is talented at the practical construction of projects as well as preparation, reading plans, and executing quality projects.

“I now feel confident to showcase my hands-on building skills… these are very useful for my day-to-day life. I am working on my own flower bed and am using those skills to create a simple fence.”

Mei reflects further by saying “this nine-week program with Build Up Tassie started to bring myself back together again”. She says that Build Up Tassie made her feel seen and appreciated for her skills and what she can offer.

Mei says that Inspiring Future Leaders was beyond her expectations.

In each session, the Inspiring Future Leaders participants were visited by guest speakers who taught them new skills, helping them towards developing a proposal for a community project. “I have learnt something new in every session,” she says.

Mei says that one of the greatest takeaways from Inspiring Future Leaders is that you have to look after yourself and that it is ok not to be ok. She now feels equipped to have these conversations with those around her and check-in on others in her life.

Mei says that if it wasn’t for Centacare Evolve Housing’s programs, she would have been sitting around doing nothing but now she is learning something new every day, is motivated, and is more focussed on both her mental and physical health.

“Personally, Build Up Tassie has taught me work skills and has made me more focussed on my career. Inspiring Future Leaders has taught me self-growth and more confidence”.

She engaged with Build Up Tassie to advance her career, show her dedication to the industry, and learn new practical skills. In Inspiring Future Leaders, Mei was more focussed on her inner self and building up her soft skills. She credits both Inspiring Future Leaders and Build Up Tassie for making her feel more confident, especially in her communication skills. She is now engaging in more meaningful day-to-day conversations with different people, as well as feeling as though she has the ability to present her ideas.

Mei says that she is extremely grateful for the support she has received through Centacare Evolve Housing’s programs and wants to continue to pass this new knowledge forward and contribute positively to her community and those around her.

“I want to give credit to all the coaches, guest speakers, and crew members I met through both programs. My journey continues, and without any of you, I wouldn’t be who I am today,” Mei says, “your support and guidance have shaped me into the person I am now”.

While she has some practical ideas for her future and is hoping to find work in the engineering field, for now Mei says that she just wants to “tap in and feel it, experience the life”. Mei keeps pushing herself to step out of her comfort zone and seek new opportunities and says, “Now, I just want to try to be a better person than yesterday”.

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