Community Spotlight: Divya Bhardwaj, P&F President

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

DIVYA BHARDWAJ

PRESIDENT OF THE PARENTS AND FRIENDS’ SOCIETY

Growing up meant never-ending seasons of joyful and memorable experiences of moving to different countries every three years. At one point in my life, I could only speak two languages, ‘Arabic’ and ‘Shona’ – very different to Hindi and English that my parents spoke. This exotic change in culture, lifestyle and environment was often confusing and challenging. It wasn’t long before my parents realised that their Arabic-speaking Indian girl with a ‘thick African accent’, needed to have a value system which would be foundational to her existence. They taught me the importance of being comfortable, even though I was different and emphasised that my unique self and upbringing would allow me to connect with people from different parts of the world. They helped me build a ‘value system’ which I took with me wherever I went. I learnt to turn my confusion into curiosity and challenges into courage. We tend to forget that leadership is not about speaking the loudest and saying the most. It is about enabling, motivating and inspiring our team by sharing stories about our own unique journey to deliver the best results as a team.

As a part of the All Saints’ family (parent of two children (Pre-Primary and Pre-Kindergarten), it is my absolute pleasure and honour to be the President of the Parents and Friends’ Society (P&F). I have a long-term interest in contributing towards the College’s mission through application of my professional skills, networks, agility, transparency, boldness and humility while fulfilling my passion for community service. The values of empathy, respect, integrity guided by humility and compassion, and the courage to be ourselves resonates very strongly for me. As an initial step towards espousing these values, P&F held its first strategy meeting to align with our vision and to get to know each other’s unique self. In this session, I learnt interesting facts about each member of the P&F executive team.

David’s passion includes raising four wonderful boys, enjoying sports on the weekend and going on adventures to new destinations, while taking as many photos as possible. After living overseas for 24 years, for Anthony, ASC has been key to the family fitting into life in Perth. Being part of the P&F is a way for Anthony to contribute to the after-school activities that make ASC more than just a school. Pooja is delighted to be able to contribute to ASC and the wider community through P&F for yet another year. She is passionate about initiatives undertaken by Catalyst: Centre for Service and Social Enterprise to support the emotional and social wellbeing of each student while fostering a strong sense of social justice to make a positive difference in the world.

Allison loves to watch her kids participate in the activities they love. She especially enjoys helping create social connections amongst ASC families through her role as Parent Social Coordinator.

Kate loves gardening and landscaping in her spare time and enjoys coaching sport at ASC. She relishes the opportunity to give back to the ASC community that has given so much to our kids.

Meagan has been a part of P&F since 2017 and has been part of Catalyst: Centre for Service and Social Enterprise. Lucy is keen to learn from the active parents in P&F to contribute to the community. She loves yoga and meditation which keeps her calm and balanced and hopes to promote ASC and P&F across different communities.

Nicola enjoys playing hockey and taking her kids to sport. She also finds her volunteering with St John Event Health Services enjoyable and rewarding, being able to give back to the community. Ursula used to play saxophone and sports. Now, she loves cooking, cleaning and spending time with her children and will be starting yoga classes soon. She joined the P&F in 2018 when her children joined the school. Melanie is a lover of ‘The Arts’ – Music, Dance and Drama. She has always enjoyed volunteering for anything relating to the Arts at ASC and feels she is making a difference in our community. Gayatri is introverted by nature but loves cooking and music. She enjoys being part of the ASC family and tries her level best to give back to the community. Ali’s key areas of interest are innovation, entrepreneurship and sport, and finds it a privilege to contribute to the ASC community in these areas through the P&F. We all got together for a Strategy Day at the end of March to work through our vision and plans for the coming year. Our collective vision is ‘To be seen as a reliable partner and a conduit between parents, the community and the College, in order to enhance everyone’s experience at All Saints’ College.’ Our key objectives are: • To foster and enhance community spirit within the College; • To promote in every way the welfare of the College and its students; • To support the ideals of Christian education for which the College stands; and • To provide a forum at which parents and friends may raise concerns and issues relevant to the College. We have big plans in 2022 to strengthen partnerships with the College and community, to yield innovative and extraordinary outcomes and be the trusted voice of the parents. Some of our key initiatives include creating a stakeholder management and engagement plan, crafting a clear communication strategy and focusing on key fundraising events. I am very excited to get to work in my role as President this year and look forward to supporting and enhancing the important function of the P&F in the College community. Divya Bhardwaj

CPEng, PEng, GAICD, PMP P&F President

To contact the P&F email pandf@allsaints.wa.edu.au