Lulu Hawkins

I’m chuffed to have been one of this year’s My Story Project mentors for City of Greater Geelong.

I was partnered with a carers’ group that wanted to create a video to highlight some common challenges and misconceptions about carers, as well as the benefits of being part of a peer-support group.

I believe storytelling is one of the most powerful methods for helping people connect, learn, empathise and respect one another. Thanks Daniel Cahill for stunningly capturing and editing the stories of these brave women.

A few weeks ago we launched The Resilient Women Project - a free school program created for secondary students and hosted on YMCA’s Virtual Y platform.

I’m so stoked to announce tomorrow , and I will be delivering our first workshop with Year 9 students in Ballarat. This initial workshop is the first of many we aim to roll out in Semester 1 2021.

I encourage parents and teaches to contact me directly if you’re interested in learning about this free program and how it might suit the needs of your child or cohort.

My high school experience was rough. I was relentlessly bullied about having a birthmark on my forehead and I thought I was dumb because I wasn’t achieving high academic grades.

I’m so thrilled to share my story of personal struggle as part of a teaching resource aimed to build the resilience of young women.

The first video in the series focuses on my perception of self growing up, and features contrasting perspectives from people who played a pivotal role in my teenage life - the stories they shared brought me to tears several times. There’s an activity in the toolkit that prompts students to do the same and I urge anyone (of any age) to do it as a way to deeply reflect on the self limiting beliefs we often carry into adulthood.

On our first day of filming with the whole crew I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. It was the first time in my career that I’d been responsible for leading a large scale project from start to finish. Some how I managed to pull together some of the most talented, inspiring women and men I’ve ever met to help create this vital resource.

Now I’m tasked with the challenge of getting it in front of the faces of young people across Australia. The free resource went live yesterday and I’ve already received positive feedback. One 18 year old colleague told me she logged on to watch the trailer (as a supportive gesture) and ended up watching all 12 videos. I think that says something.

If you’ve ever wondered what’s fuelled me to travel the world, live in a van or voluntarily sign up for a reality TV show, I encourage you to watch my Who I Am video. My dad may be bias but he said it’s the most raw and natural video I’ve ever created.

Visit Virtual Y for more videos and program details.