University Pathways Program

Alessia Roujeinikova, Doxa Alumnus

Volunteering is a great way to give back to the community and the young people who participate in our programs. Alessia Roujenikova is a Doxa Cadet Alumnus who knows all about this, having spent so much of her spare time guiding the next generation at Doxa’s University Pathways Program this summer holidays, as well as volunteering on other programs throughout the last year. We caught up with Alessia to tell us more. 

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi, I am Alessia. I’ve recently completed a Bachelor of Commerce at Monash University majoring in Accounting after attending Footscray City College, Melbourne’s inner West. I was very fortunate to be offered a place on Doxa’s Cadetship program and a work placement with Baillieu Holst Ltd.

I greatly enjoyed my four years with the financial services firm, acquiring knowledge and experience in a professional environment to help set up a foundation for my career path.

Since then, I’ve secured a full time graduate role at KPMG in the Audit Assurance Risk Division.

Alessia featured in the Herald Sun in 2017

Why do you volunteer at Doxa?

During the last two years of my degree, I studied part time to create more free time to focus on my wellbeing, get back into my hobbies and take up volunteering opportunities with Doxa.

I decided to dive-in on the opportunity to be a Team Leader on a University Pathways Program (UPP) and it has been one of the best decisions I’ve made yet. Doxa staff were there to support me in my growth personally and professionally, so it felt super rewarding in-turn being able to impart my experiences and knowledge to younger students in that mentoring capacity and give back.

“I wish I had guidance from students in their university years to tell me back then what I know now.”

I continue to come back for numerous reasons; growth in leadership skills, having lots of fun, meeting the other amazing team leaders and most importantly, being continuously inspired by the young individuals that go to these UPPs with a hunger to learn.

Since that initial opportunity, I’ve volunteered on: Future Focus, Future Insights and the Peer-to-Peak Performance Program. I hope to continue to make a positive contribution in future years for these programs as a Doxa Alumnus.

Volunteering as a Team Leader on UPP

What are your top 3 tips for UPP students unsure of what to do next?

1. Study in the area/field you are interested in I believe that if you follow what you love doing, you’ll find your calling.
2. Do not have a “year 12 is the be-all and end-all” mindset What you choose to study in year 12 does not determine your outcomes in life, they are moreso a stepping stone into uni that opens you up to a world of opportunities.
3. Ask LOTS of questions A lot of what we learn is not in theory, but off our experiences in interacting with others.

“I’ve seen so many UPP students learn so much from their discussions with networkers and team leaders, helping broaden their mindset on opportunities that exist out there and how to incorporate their interests with those opportunities.”

UPP students and volunteers before a networking dinner

Share a favourite memory from a recent UPP you volunteered at?

In the last UPP session, I ran a session for the students advocating the important of taking care of mental and physical health. During the UPP farewell as the students were heading off, a couple of them personally approached me and thanked me for the impact that my session had made on them and how they’ve learned a lot on such topic that is usually never addressed at this stage of their life. It was truly heart-warming and is what makes me so motivated to help mentor young individuals.

Thanks so much to Alessia for sharing her thoughts and experiences, and to all our amazing volunteers. We literally couldn’t do it without you. If you’d like to volunteer at Doxa yourself or would like to know any more about our programs drop us a line at info@doxa.org.au

Are you a UPP student considering a career in the Arts but don’t know how to go about it? Fear not! As part of our University Pathways Program (UPP) we invite selected professionals from across a wide range of industries, sectors and businesses to share career experiences with you. It’s also an opportunity to practice networking over an informal dinner. Approaching new people, learning the art of personal storytelling and delving into career conversations are all awesome communications skills that we aim to equip our program participants with. So too is learning about what careers are out there.

In this blog post we’ll be introducing one of our professional networkers from the Arts sector.

For our next UPP in July, we’re super excited to be inviting Charlotte Hilder, Creative Producer at Youth Outreach, Arts Centre Melbourne to come and talk to students at a networking dinner about a career in the Arts. Charlotte brings a wealth of experience to the table, having spent her career working with young people and across community arts initiatives and in local government.  She’s worked in film, photography, music and arts projects and studied at National Art School, RMIT and Victorian College of Arts. 

We asked Charlotte a couple of questions ahead of the networking dinner…

Why are you volunteering at the UPP Session?

I have been working in the Arts sector for over 20 years, and I believe that mentoring and networking is very important in supporting young people in their career pathways and aspirations.

What are you looking forward to sharing with the students?

I have a professional Arts career and believe that the creative industries need more people sharing insights into their career journey, as it is often an undefined pathway and many roles are not advertised. Instead they are gained through networking and industry endorsement.

If you’re in our UPP and would like to find out more, then make sure you have a chat with Charlotte at the next networking dinner in July.  If you’re a professional and interested in getting involved with the UPP networking dinners and would like to share your wisdom with our students please email: upp@doxa.org.au

PS: Check out this TED talk by Ben Cameron about “Why the live arts matter?”