University of Western Australia students Anna Podulova and Maanvik Arora brought experience and knowledge from different study areas with a shared motivation for making a positive difference, to make a meaningful impact during their recent internships with ECU Social Ageing (SAGE) Futures Lab.
Anna and Maanvik supported work on a number of projects with SAGE Lab and teamed up to focus their efforts on the Rainbow Migrants initiative, a community-based project supporting a wide range of culturally and linguistically diverse LGBTIQA+ people in WA, regardless of age, ability, visa status, education or English proficiency.
Together they made a significant contribution to advancing the sustainability and professional processes of Rainbow Migrants, with their supervisor, ECU Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow and founder of the Rainbow Migrants project, Dr Lukasz Krzyzowski, nominating them for the McCusker Centre for Citizenship’s Outstanding Intern Award.
Maanvik, studying a Bachelor of Psychology and Bachelor of Commerce double degree, initially applied for the McCusker Centre for Citizenship (the Centre) internship program with hopes of being matched with an impactful role related to his psychology studies.
“My main project was building a brand-new website for the Rainbow Migrant Project. Additionally, I worked alongside Anna to create communications material for Rainbow Migrants and the other projects we were involved with,” Maanvik said.
“Working on the Rainbow Migrants project opened my eyes to the continuous uphill battles that some people fight just to be themselves. I hope the new website will help those in the community who feel lost or alone find support and community.”
Anna is a Bachelor of Biomedical Science student majoring in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and said that the opportunity to work collaboratively with another intern added to the experience.
“Maanvik and I got along very well right from the outset and worked well together in completing our projects.
“Creating promotional materials and conducting research that directly supported the LGBTIQA+ migrant communities provided me with a profound sense of fulfillment. It was incredibly rewarding to know that my work was helping to foster a sense of belonging and inclusivity, which are essential for well-being and community resilience,” she said.
Dr Krzyzowski said that Anna and Maanvik had made “remarkable contributions”, helping advance the project towards its upcoming launch as a fully operational research and advocacy centre working with a range of service providers and community organisations.
“Initially tasked with planning and designing the website, Anna and Maanvik delivered a fully functional, ready-to-publish website for the Rainbow Migrants initiative,” he said.
“They worked on video and podcast content, and prepared resources for training and social media campaigns. Their extensive research on LGBTIQA+ migrants and the safety measures implemented by various organisations working with vulnerable communities resulted in high-quality resources that require minimal changes for implementation.
“Anna and Maanvik actively participated in weekly operational meetings, presenting their work confidently and respectfully responding to feedback. Their enthusiasm for learning and open-mindedness contributed significantly to the team’s morale and productivity, I look forward to our paths crossing again soon.”