Rainbow Leadership Program Reflections 2021

Published on 21 December 2021

Monash is proud to welcome eight new graduates of the Rainbow Leadership Program (RLP). The RLP is a group supporting the leadership and resilience development of LGBTIQA+ young people in our community, and was co-designed with young LGBTIQA+ community members. There are now 190 young Monash leaders in our community who have completed either the Young Womens, Young Men’s or Rainbow Leadership Program, going forward to shape positive futures for us all.

Two of our Rainbow graduates have provided reflections of their recent experience;

The Rainbow Leaders Program is an invaluable resource and experience for young leaders within our community. I learned so much from the program to help improve my leadership that I haven’t been able to learn anywhere else, such as financial literacy and how to look after my mental health. The program filled in the gaps in my knowledge surrounding many key topics to leadership and useful subjects in everyday life, and has furthered my understanding in topics I already had some background in. 

I really looked forward to each weekly session, not only for the content, but for the lovely discussions our group had and the respect we all showed each other at all times, but especially when opinions differed. The facilitators, Siobhan and Maddy, were wonderful, demonstrating positive leadership that we should all aim to embody, and being kind and compassionate throughout the program.

I am so grateful to have had this experience; the people I have met and the topics we covered are sure to be things that I carry with me throughout my leadership experiences. I know how much this program will benefit other young people in the future, and I have genuinely loved to be involved in the Rainbow Leadership Program this year.

Steph, 18

Joining the Rainbow Leadership Program was easily one of the best decisions I have made this year. Despite being the youngest person in the group, I was seamlessly included in every activity and was able to learn, give advice and share my thoughts regardless of my experience. I also found it amazing to share experiences with the group, and gain such a wide breadth of knowledge from the diversity and different narratives of each person in the session.

Through the program I gained invaluable knowledge about a whole range of topics that never would have been brought up in a school environment. This included learning about money and taxes, discussing mental health and wellbeing; non-specific and specific to the queer experience, sex education (more than I have ever learned in health class, something that was a shared experience), confidence in public speaking and how to manage relationships in a healthy way and recognising red flags. All of these topics are vital to have an understanding of generally, but being able to look at the information through a queer lens; how these issues such as abusive relationships, mental wellbeing and getting a job are experienced by the LGBTQIA+ community, as a minority, was also incredibly helpful to becoming a leader as a young queer person.

The program massively aided my confidence levels, and the support of the team gave me the courage to reach out to the queer community in my school and become a leader in that area, paving the way for other young leaders. I think this program is extremely important to young people in the LGBTQIA+ community who are looking to make new connections with shared experiences, and may be seeking newfound confidence to advocate for their beliefs. Not only have I become a better leader through the skills I have learned, I also have found a magnificent support network through the group, and ultimately my courage and motivation has skyrocketed to make the change I want to see in my community.

Echo, 15