Last month we met with Michelle, one of our strong and courageous Annas from the recent Anna Stewart Memorial Project (ASMP) cohort. This month we're introducing you to Leah, another wonderful woman, who also took part in the program.

Leah has worked in mental health for several years and also devotes a great deal of her time to supporting women's activist causes. She is a strong and committed feminist who is actively involved in community activism on behalf of feminist causes, including Slut Walk Melbourne which aims to reclaim women’s rights over our bodies and the right to exist without fear of being assaulted. In fact, Leah has told us that it was this work that prompted her to apply to become an Anna.

When asked about whether the ASM program was all that she hoped for, Leah said that the program was great, and exceeded her expectations. A key skill that she learned was how to engage with “multiple people at once with different backgrounds”. Leah engaged in further learning about building relationships outside of your usual networks to support common causes.

Leah also talked to us about how much she enjoyed her time spent working in the HASCU office. Leah felt the HACSU office was a welcoming place, and we were very happy to have her and her comrade Michelle with us for the two weeks the program spanned.

At the HACSU office, we strive to create an easy-going and respectful environment and that demonstrates enviable diversity - just like what we want to see across all workplaces. Leah told us that her only thought around improvement was that we need to work on making the HACSU Women’s Network as strong as it can be - and we couldn’t agree more!

We are extremely proud of all our Annas. History has shown that each graduate has gone on to become strong, and dedicated activists for HACSU and for their fellow members.