# Application for ANU delegation ([Group of Eight Student Leadership in China](https://go8.edu.au))

27 November 2012

Dear ████,

I am writing to apply to be part of ANU’s delegation to the Group of Eight Student Leadership in China (SLIC) Project.

I am a PhD student at ANU and do not have any established links with China. I do however have a strong personal interest in the rise of China and Australia’s place in the region. I am planning to enrol in Mandarin classes next semester at the ANU Centre for Continuing Education.

Having studied at five universities in four countries, I am in an excellent position to assist the SLIC Project develop ideas for promoting student exchange to China.

I am an ideal candidate for this role and address the selection criteria below.

Kind regards,

### Communication and Interpersonal Skills

I have broad experience communicating with a wide range of people, and am able to recognise and adapt to the circumstances, adopting different styles of communication as appropriate. My experience ranges from shadowing a Judge, communicating with senior members of the judiciary, to working as a Student Attorney for the University of Texas Capital Punishment Clinic, communicating with lawyers, jurors and death row inmates.

I have always been keen to develop outstanding communication skills, and have obtained basic qualifications in sign language, counselling and, most recently, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). I also enjoy learning languages. I speak Spanish at an intermediate level and am learning Indonesian, in which I will be taking a three week intensive course over the summer.

If I am selected to take part in this delegation, I will endeavour to learn basic Mandarin, as in my experience any effort made to speak the native language is always appreciated by foreign colleagues and is a great way to quickly develop positive relationships.

### International Communication

Completing a TESOL qualification has provided me with an insight into how to tailor my use of the English language to improve communication with non-native speakers. I am currently working on my Spanish speaking skills through a language exchange with an English beginner, which has also allowed me to practice

speaking English clearly for the advantage of non-native speakers and beginners. This semester I have been tutoring an AusAID Scholarship student, which has involved assisting with English skills.

Awareness of and Respect for Other Cultures

I enjoy travel and am fascinated by the diversity of cultures in the world. I always strive to acknowledge and respect the cultural nuances of my surroundings. For example, during my stay in Brazil as part of the ANU delegation to the Rio Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), I took Portuguese lessons and always tried to engage with people in their own language. I also arranged to stay with a local family for a few days to get a real feel for the culture. Similarly, before undertaking an exchange course at the University of the South Pacific, Vanuatu, I stayed with a Peace Corps volunteer and met many members of the local community. I broke the ice using a handful of phrases I learned in Bislama and was able to learn much about the local culture in a short period of time.

### Teamwork

At Rio+20 I worked together with 15 other students to organise an actively-engaged delegation to the conference. During the conference we organised meetings with other universities, NGOs, and PM Julia Gillard. Since the conference we have continued to work together to host follow-up lectures and create a student journal on sustainability.

In my role as an Energy Advocate at the Total Environment Centre, I work with a small team of colleagues and consumer advocates from other organisations to develop and advocate improved government policymaking on energy issues.

### Leadership

I organised a Climate Change Solutions Conference during my first year of university, bringing together the university’s academics and the community to discuss this pressing issue. I was part of the organising committee for the university’s delegation to the World Model United Nations conference in Taipei. Finally, I founded the university’s Vegetarian Society, which is still going strong five years on.

Recently, when I became aware that a leading South African environmental lawyer would be visiting Australia, I took the initiative and organised a successful guest lecture at ANU which was attended by around 80 people from across the university.

### Innovation and Creativity

I am naturally a creative person and have applied this in the first year of my PhD by developing a number of innovative strategies to disseminate my research and develop an academic profile. I have designed and built a personal website, engaged people with similar research interests through twitter, and have created opportunities to publish preliminary research through online magazines and other informal channels.

I am interested in music, photography and web design, and in 2005 I received an Arts Council of England & Wales Grant to design and develop a popular website called the Folk Directory, a database of traditional music events.