Leading by example

Giving up her time to help others is nothing new to Gabrielle Terliatan, the president of Beta Alpha Psi-Xi Epsilon Monash, whose passion for volunteering began after she emigrated to Australia.

Migrating to Melbourne as an 11-year-old was a culture shock for Singapore-born Gabrielle.

But the support of her community helped her overcome her struggles to integrate into Australian society – and set her on a path to a life of volunteering.

“My community gave me countless opportunities to take part in a range of different initiatives, which allowed me to view Melbourne with a unique lens and opened my eyes to what I could achieve here,” she says.

With volunteer tasks ranging from Christmas present wrapping to helping out her local opportunity shop, Gabrielle has long given up her time to help others.

And so, when the opportunity to join the Monash Business School Discipline Panel and Dean Student Forum arose, Gabrielle jumped at the chance to make a contribution.

“I wanted to make my opinions heard and provide a student perspective at hearings to ensure they were conducted accurately and fairly,” she says.

Gabrielle joined BAP Monash in 2020. Within a year she became the group’s communications director, and then president.

The 23-year-old said while the resilient mindset she developed during her early migrant experiences helped her deal with tough COVID-19 restrictions, the support of Beta Alpha Psi-Xi Epsilon (BAP) proved invaluable.

The Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Commerce student says her proudest achievement to date is her work to help secure the prestigious Gold Challenge award for BAP at the annual Best Practices competition.

"I wanted to provide a student perspective at hearings to ensure they were conducted accurately and fairly."

“Securing the Gold Challenge award was a massive team effort by the committee members and with the help of Dr Daniela Juric, our faculty advisor,” she says.

“These experiences have allowed me to understand what goes on behind the scenes at Monash Business School and the lengths required to assist the school in becoming as prestigious as it is now.”

Gabrielle is determined to continue to motivate and guide members to be responsible, progressive individuals through her leadership of BAP Monash in 2022.

“To be a pioneering, innovative and creative thinker is to show a keen interest in always wanting to transform and influence today’s society into a better one,” she says.

Gabrielle is this year’s Monash Business School Future Global Leaders undergraduate winner.

“I feel very proud and humbled by my accomplishments,” she says.

“With this award, I am inspired to continue challenging the status quo, contributing to society, and striving to be a holistic-thinking individual.”