some cool things we've been up to... 

BY DIYA SANJAY

Hey guys, so it's been a minute since we've done a blog. We're going to aim to keep it more consistent from here on out. As all of you students know… ATAR is no joke. We've been trying to juggle a lot recently!!

But I thought I needed to make a post because we've been up to some really exciting things that I'm so excited to share! 

As part of our pitch to DEED (WA Department of Energy and Economic Diversification) for our application to the WA Innovators of the Year Awards last year, we had the opportunity to meet the lovely Hon. Ayor Chuot. Hon. Chuot is actually the first Black woman elected to the Western Australian Parliament, and she's such an inspiring figure to so many migrant students across Australia. Sara actually met her back in 2021, when she was first elected, to interview her for a PEAC Parliamentarians course (highly recommend for any Year 5-6 students doing PEAC -it was definitely our favourite course!).

We wanted to interview her again to talk about one of the most important things to us… Elevare Education (of course). As a migrant to Australia herself, she provided such valuable insight and guidance that truly solidified the necessity of our work and helped shape our future ventures. We also had the opportunity to meet the lovely Aluel Riak, Ayor's Parliamentary Secretary.

Hon. Chuot graciously wanted to help amplify our work in a more formal setting by offering to read a member's statement of ours in WA Parliament. Our mums and we even had the chance to visit Parliament while the statement was being read. It was honestly surreal...hearing the work we've done, and the passion we have for a cause so close to our hearts, being shared in such an important space. Unreal.

You can read the member statement here:

https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/hansard/daily/uh/2026-03-18/44?sid=dbd74f3e453e4fa8a8

To the sides, I've attached some pics from the day!

Also, as some of you may know, our main venture for 2026 is Career IRL. Check out the Career IRL tab on our website for more info! Our first episode is launching (sometime) in April, so keep an eye out!

We're going to be interviewing so many amazing people from all around the world in niche and unconventional fields. As students ourselves with a wide range of passions, we've found that schools sometimes focus on a pretty narrow range of careers, and often only touch on career education quite broadly - which does make sense, since they're catering to a large group of students.

However, we truly believe everyone should have access to accurate, entertaining (and actually interesting!) career information. And not just the usual doctor, lawyer, engineer paths, but niche careers, unique pathways, and unconventional journeys. We want to highlight that success doesn't mean following a set path. It's not a fixed definition AT ALL. And it DEFINITELY doesn't mean basing your life on what others expect of you, whether that's parents, friends, or school.

By interviewing industry professionals in niche fields, we hope students can find someone they relate to, almost like a mentor figure, especially if they're interested in that path.

Anyway, onto the next cool thing we got to experience. This Saturday, we had the opportunity to attend the Bert Hawke Memorial Gala as guests of Hon. Ayor Makur Chuot. It was an incredible night. We were inspired by the changemakers of today (as future changemakers of tomorrow?!), transported by the amazing food, and danced the night away to what I can only describe as 'super lit' music at the end of the gala. We even got to take a photo with WA Premier Roger Cook! What a night.

I know I might be digressing a bit, but I think it's really important that we share what we're doing - not just to inspire, but also to just record and remember it ourselves!

If you made it to the end, you're a real one.

Hope you enjoy the pics!!!

Thanks,

Diya