The LEAP-Macquarie Mentoring (Refugee Mentoring) program has gained national recognition after being named a finalist in the prestigious Australian Financial Review Awards in acknowledgement of its support of students from refugee backgrounds to access and succeed in Australian higher education.

“Witnessing their [mentees] perseverance through their own personal struggle to fight for their education is really humbling and has opened my eyes to the value of education – which is ironic seeing as this is what we’re here for,” explained a LEAP student mentor.

The program was piloted in 2011 after the Widening Participation Unit recognised a gap in the transition support offered to students studying in Australia on a humanitarian visa. Since then, the program has doubled in size, and benefited 987 high school refugee students to date through participation in the program.

Ruth Tregale, Director of Widening Participation, recognises the dual effect of the program, commenting it not only has positive outcomes for the mentees, but also for our student mentors who report a greater sense of belonging to the University, and increased motivation and confidence in their own studies.

Equity, diversity and inclusion are a priority for Macquarie, and was highlighted when Professor John Simons, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic); Professor Sherman Young, Pro Vice-Chancellor Learning and Teaching; Ruth Tregale, Director Widening Participation; and Sonal Singh, Widening Participation Evaluation Advisor, represented the University at the AFR awards gala dinner.

“I am particularly proud of this program and also of our University’s more general commitment to the support of refugees,” says Professor John Simons, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic).

So far there have been 32 high school students from the early rounds of the LEAP program that have moved on to higher education, with some even giving their time back to the program. Regardless of their own background, mentors often learn just as much from their mentees, while gaining real world experience.

Learn more about LEAP – Macquarie Mentoring and other LEAP programs.

The visit included accredited teacher professional development, a parent and community information evening, as well as two days of interactive workshops for students hosted in Kyogle and Grafton respectively.

Elle Hrobat, Project Coordinator from Macquarie’s Big History Institute, was one of two staff to run a workshop over the two days of school workshops. Elle, who also participated in an earlier Bridges to Higher Education schools event in Penrith, was invited back by the LEAP coordinators who recognised the need to assist links between the Institute and prospective student members.

‘The LEAP program made it a joy to work with other educators who are passionate about their fields and pass that on to students who may have never seriously considered their options. In terms of Big History, one of the greatest observations I’ve made is that regardless of your context, the interest in where we came from and where we are going is something universal,” says Elle.

During the course of the workshops, Elle engaged with more than 160 year 10 and 11 students, to introduce students to Big History and break down some of the critical thinking concepts behind it.

The event was the second in a series of four intensives as part of Macquarie’s involvement in the Federal Government grant-funded Bridges to Higher Education initiative. Other presenters who have reached students via the LEAP Schools Engagement team and Bridges to Higher Education as part of these events include Catherine Lowe from the Centre for Emotional Health, Rochelle Cox from the Department of Cognitive Science, as well as the Department of Astronomy and Physics with their Digitarium Epsilon.

Learn more about all the programs ran by the Widening Participation Unit.

The Widening Participation Unit has been successful in obtaining funding in the latest round of Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) grants.

The project ‘(Re)claiming social capital: improving language and cultural pathways for refugee students into Australian higher education’ is in partnership with University of Newcastle and Curtin University and will identify the pathways taken by Humanitarian Entrant Background (HEB) students to enter higher education and how these students experience their transitions into and through undergraduate study.

“Here at Macquarie, the funding will also support the evaluation of the LEAP-Macquarie Mentoring (Refugee Mentoring) program to highlight the various pathways students take into higher education,” said Ruth Tregale, Director, Widening Participation.

Ruth says this is a pioneering mentoring program for high school students from refugee backgrounds. “The program provides a relaxed and friendly atmosphere for students from refugee backgrounds (mentees) to explore and navigate future education and career pathways with the support of Macquarie student volunteers (mentors).”

Since the program was established in 2011, the program has engaged 754 high school students in Years 9-10 from refugee backgrounds who have connected with 357 Macquarie student mentors. 32 high school students from refugee backgrounds who were part of the mentoring program are now in universities across NSW.

“The project will develop a set of best practice recommendations to facilitate HEB students’ transitions through various institutional pathways and contribute towards HEB students’ positive engagement with their education.

Their visit formed part of the annual Rural Students University Experience Program, a three-day trip to Sydney run in conjunction with the Country Education Foundation.

“The decision to study at university is a big step for any student, but when that decision also involves possibly relocating away from home, the prospect can be daunting,” said Ruth Tregale, Director, Widening Participation Unit.

Macquarie, as part of its LEAP (Learning, Education, Aspiration and Participation) program, welcomed the students on campus to demystify the concept of attending university.

Ruth says many of the students from Balranald, Boorawa, Bombala, Camden Haven, Merriwa, Narrabri, West Wyalong, Murrumburrah and Coonamble had never experienced a university campus before and admitted the day changed their perceptions of university for the better.

The day involved interactive and informative sessions which included history, science and psychology workshops, and a hip-hop dance class.

“These activities were broken up with a campus tour as well as visits to both Dunmore Lang and Robert Menzies colleges, via the new University Avenue pathway, where students experienced dorm life and heard from current students about support options,” said Ruth.

Country Education Foundation of Australia CEO Sarah Taylor says Macquarie has opened the eyes and minds of hundreds of rural students through its continued support of the Foundation.

“The difference it makes to these kids is incredible,” she said. “For many it’s the turning point and a realisation there are opportunities out there they either hadn’t considered, or hadn’t considered possible. On behalf of the kids, their teachers, parents, schools and communities I wish to thank the staff and students of Macquarie for making this possible.”

The workshop was part of Macquarie’s LEAP-links program, a program that works to build the participation of students from under-represented communities in higher education, and provide professional development to teachers across NSW.

Ruth Tregale, Manager for Widening Participation (Social Inclusion) said the University supported the LEAP-links program in order to improve educational opportunities for rural and regional students.

“We recognise the additional barriers facing students and teachers in rural and remote areas, including access to resources and teacher professional development, and we are specifically taking this fun program to these areas in order to provide schools with the same opportunities as their metropolitan counterparts,” said Ruth.

Ruth says robotics provides a highly engaging medium for creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication, four essential skills for learning and information, communication and technology (ICT) within the curriculum.

Each school participating in the training program are offered the loan of a LEGO EV3 Robotics Kit for one term to use within the classroom, with each kit valued at $10,000.

These kits include 15 LEGO EV3 Robots, teacher resources and a 1.5 hr lesson taught by a qualified robotics trainer via Connected Classrooms video conferencing.

Learn more about LEAP Programs.

The event provided them an opportunity to ask questions about future prospects for their children who aspire to higher edutcation, and gain a better understanding of pathways to university, and access to support and financial assistance, including scholarship opportunities.

“Current statistics show students from Pacific Island backgrounds are two thirds less likely to continue on to further education than their peers,” said Donna Heemi, LEAP Project Coordinator (Schools Engagement). “Determining factors include a lack of access to HECS-HELP, often being the first in a family to attend university, and a need to contribute to the family household income earlier.“

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) Professor Sherman Young gave a warm welcome and provided background on the Bridges to Higher Education program.

“Bridges is a fantastic program which enables a range of students who may not have considered university to understand that tertiary study is an option, and an accessible one,” he said. “We all benefit when our community is built from students of diverse backgrounds.”

The Bridges collaboration between five universities in the Sydney Basin is funded by the Commonwealth Government’s Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP), and aims to improve the participation rates of students from communities under-represented in higher education.

Learn more about Widening Participation at Macquarie and about The Bridges to Higher Education scheme.

Ruth Tregale | Widening Participation Manager

How long have you been at Macquarie?
Eight years in total; first as a postgraduate student, and then working for Access Macquarie, then U@MQ, and finally the University itself. I’ve seen the campus from a lot of different perspectives!

What is your favourite thing about working at Macquarie?
Our students. I run outreach initiatives (the LEAP program) with schools and communities to support disadvantaged students, and I am always blown away by the generosity, passion and commitment of our Macquarie students who volunteer for the program.

Where is your favourite place to spend a spare five minutes at Macquarie?
What spare five minutes? But if I did, probably on the balcony outside Mezze Café in Y3A, looking out over the beautifully restored and regenerated Mars Creek landscape.

What was your earliest childhood career aspiration?
To work in one of those old-fashioned fruit and veg greengrocers stores – I just loved the myriad of colours, textures and aromas spilling out onto the street.

What is the piece of technology you can’t live without?
Actually pretty much nothing. My idea of bliss is relaxing on a remote Pacific island with no electricity or phone reception. Seriously. That’s where you’ll normally find me recharging my batteries (metaphorically speaking) between Christmas and New Year.

If money were no object, what would you like to achieve?
That everyone in the whole world has the opportunity to access and succeed in education, regardless of gender, socio-economic status or cultural background.

What were you doing before you started these questions?
Uploading photos from my recent trip to Lake Como in Italy – and wondering why Europeans tend to think Sydney is warm even in winter!

Read more about the outreach initiative LEAP.

With focus on promoting awareness and discussion surrounding  issues faced by refugees in Australia, the evening highlighted the great work the program has accomplished over the last four years in support of high school students from refugee backgrounds.

A video about the mentoring program was premiered at the event, and a panel discussion was held about the experiences of the program and the effect it is having on wider refugee issues in Australia.

Panelists included past Macquarie Mentors Maxwell Vanday and Tahmina Ansari, who spoke about their experiences coming to Australia as refugees and the positive impact mentoring other students from refugee backgrounds has had on them.

Vice-Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton expressed immense pride in the work the program has achieved and the number of lives it has touched and changed since it began.

“Programs like LEAP provide a valuable service to students who need it most,” he said. “The insight, experience, ambition and ability that students in this program bring to us makes our student body richer, our campus more vibrant, and our University a more interesting place to work and study.”

Read more about the Macquarie Mentoring (Refugee Mentoring) program.

For more information please contact LEAP Program Coordinator Robert Ephraums (robert.ephraums@mq.edu.au).