The talk earned her one of the few standing ovations of the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew that in telling my story to others, I was also telling myself the story for the first time. Developing the talk was like a therapy session, filled with flashbacks and tears of my lowest moments when I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel,\u201d Onek says.<\/p>\n
![\"Esther](\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Esther-TEDxPerth-3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe it was important for my story to be in a mainstream setting. I did not want people to perceive it as just another \u2018refugee story\u2019 or that I was looking for sympathy or pity. I also wanted there to be a contrast between how I have made a contribution to Australia compared to the current portrayal of Sudanese youth in the media.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter TED, I was asked to speak at a number of other events, such as the THRIVE youth conference in March 2018, which was great to be at too.\u201d<\/p>\n
The opportunity for Onek to speak at TEDxPerth came about in 2017, when, after finishing her degree, she joined the African Leadership Initiative, a State Government\u2013sponsored program that helps young African Australians develop public speaking and project management skills.<\/p>\n
While facilitating a workshop to encourage other young African Australians to speak up about issues impacting them, Onek met WA Office of Multicultural Interests Manager of Community Engagement Walter Gomes, who suggested she apply to speak at TEDxPerth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter saw potential in me and supported me to develop the talk. I also had two other mentors who assisted me through the journey,\u201d Onek says.<\/p>\n
How Curtin\u2019s degree prepared Onek for her career<\/h2>\n
Onek says it was \u2018natural\u2019 that she chose to study a Bachelor of Social Work<\/a> at Curtin University, because of her life-long passion to make a difference to those who experience marginalisation.<\/p>\n This passion has now seen her working as a Multicultural Women\u2019s Domestic Violence Advocate for Womens Health & Family Services<\/a>, a non-for-profit organisation based in Northbridge that provides medical, mental health, domestic violence and other support services to women.<\/p>\n \u201cI will always be grateful to Curtin University for being inclusive and offering me assistance<\/a> during my studies. The main skills I learned from my degree are active listening and empathy. Wherever my practice takes me, these two skills will always be fundamental,\u201d Onek says.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, active listening emphasises the value of human relationships. In my current role, I have women come to me in a state of hopelessness. I support them to discover their strengths; however, what they value most is someone to listen to their story.<\/p>\n \u201cListening without judgement and validating people\u2019s need for understanding has built my empathy for clients. As a social worker now, I found that these skills have helped me connect with people, break down barriers and gain insight into how people cope with their experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n This story is part of Curtin\u2019s Young Alumni Stories<\/a> series where we celebrate the achievements of Curtin graduates 35 and under. Learn more about the Young Alumni Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At TEDxPerth 2017, Sudanese-born Esther Onek had a simple message for people who have suffered hardship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4275,"featured_media":6611,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-6608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"Graduate snapshot","content":" Name:\u00a0Esther Onek<\/p>\n
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