John Duggan chatting with students in the Elders Meeting Room of Bunjilaka.
Source: Museum Victori
On 18th August, Melbourne Museum hosted twelve Indigenous students from the Hume Region for a program called Welcome to my World. This is part of the WoW (Worlds of Work) program run by the Foundation for Young Australians that is designed to introduce kids to career skills in an engaging and stimulating manner.
Four staff members – Dianne Bray, John Duggan, Will Patten and Anthony Balla – spent time with small groups of students and shared their different perspectives on what it takes to succeed in the working world of Melbourne Museum. Their conversations with the participating students focused on how to make the most of personal strengths, plus the generic skills necessary to work in such a diverse and changing workplace. This process provides staff with the opportunity to pass on their knowledge and experience to young people who are at the beginning of their vocational journey.
The Milarri garden provided a striking backdrop for some of the conversations and connections quickly developed between staff and students. The four staff who participated found the process both interesting and at times challenging. "I think staff get as much out of these experiences as the students,” said Colleen Boyle, Vocational Education Coordinator. ‘It's a great way to reflect on who you are, and what is important to you, both personally and professionally."
The students created a digital story to capture their time with staff at three ‘working worlds’, which they presented to staff and students at the end of the week. Captured in the presentation were inspiring descriptions that staff gave of their pictures of success. For Will Patten, his metaphor for success is water since “it’s transparent, it’s healing, but it also has the power to take down a mountain”. Anthony Balla described it as “a four year old with a stick- it can be a gun, a sword or whatever they want it to be – they have the whole world in their hands.”
The students expressed their appreciation with personal handwritten letters to their museum mentors. The word ‘inspirational’ appeared in many of their comments, as in this letter to John: “I thought a lot of the things you said were really interesting and inspirational… your story is one I will always remember.” Participant Nerissa was fascinated by Dianne Bray’s working world, commenting "I was amazed when we went upstairs into the fish room. I had never seen anything like that before."
Welcome to My World is an important element of the museum’s Indigenous Pathways program, which supports Indigenous students who are at risk of dropping out of school. Its aim is to encourage students to stay in school and help them develop a vision for their own future. Some of the participating students will return for work experience later in the year for more hands-on immersion in working life at the museum.
For further information about this program, contact Colleen Boyle or Liz Suda on 13 11 02.