To me, Canteen is a family. A place where I can be my real self. There is no judgment, no pity, no pressure. I joined Canteen in 2012 after my Dad was diagnosed with a rare lymphoma. He passed away in 2014, at the same time I was in my second year of my degree. Canteen helped me through the hardest part of my life. With support from Canteen, I completed my Bachelor of Agricultural Science with Honours and went on to study my PhD in the science of cider as the recipient of a Westpac Bicentennial Foundation Future Leader Scholarship. None of this would have been possible without the love and support I received from Canteen.
Canteen has given me the opportunity to engage in leadership, in 2016 I joined the local leadership team in Tasmania. In 2017 I became the Chair as well as a Peer Mentor and Youth Ambassador. Through the leadership training in Canteen I have become a more confident and mindful person. I am grateful for the experiences Canteen has provided to me, becoming a Board Director, and more recently Chair of the Board, has been the best way for me to give back to an organisation that was there for me when I needed it the most, and changed my life, as it has for so many others.
If there was anything to come of my loving and wonderful father dying of cancer before he was 50, it would be that it gave me the opportunity to become a part of Canteen.
I am continually excited to be part of Canteen’s future and to shape and share my journey with others.
