Volunteer for Relay For Life: Help your Community and your Career!

You are a university student. Take a moment to think about why you get out of bed to go to lectures and tutorials, and why you burn the midnight oil on occasions to get that big assignment done and handed in... Sure, some of you might say to get good grades, but ultimately you do it so that you can eventually secure a good job in order to become financially secure in a fast paced and competitive world.

But did you know that the number of people graduating from university in Australia is now higher than ever? This means that there are more qualified people than ever before, which translates into increased competition when it becomes time to enter the world of work and secure your dream job. Now more than ever, it is vital to set yourself apart and stand out from the crowd.

My name is Andrew Lewy. I am in my final year at Macquarie, studying Business Administration and Psychology. A couple of years ago, as the Golden Key Events Coordinator, I introduced Relay For Life, a Cancer Council overnight fund raising event, to the Macquarie University campus. With my co-chair Mel Ramsay, we recruited a large committee of Macquarie University student volunteers, and worked tirelessly with them for 8 months bringing together this large event. It was such a success that we repeated it last year, and overall more than 1000 people have participated and $100,000 has been raised.

I however only realised the value of this experience from a career perspective when I was sitting in the interview room for a marketing internship with Procter & Gamble, the world's largest consumer goods company and the holy grail of marketing internships. Much of the interview revolved around my charity work with the Cancer Council and Relay For Life, because my work as chairman of this large charity event showcased the above-mentioned qualities of leadership, initiative and strength of character. When you're in the interview room, the bigger the backlog of experience that demonstrates the skills and characteristics that the interviewers are looking for the better.

I beat over 1500 people from all around Australia to secure the internship. I recently returned from this amazing experience having learned a great deal about the marketing industry and working in a large global organization. If I receive an offer I will be one of the few final year students secure in the knowledge they have a graduate position lined up when they finish university.

I am sharing my story with you because having chaired the Macquarie University Relay For Life for two years, Mel and I are ready to pass on the baton. We want to see the legacy that we and our awesome organising committees have created live on, so we are looking for enterprising students from Macquarie University to take on the challenge of becoming the next chairpeople and committee members for the 2010 Relay for Life.

If you feel like you are up for the challenge and are passionate about doing something amazing and giving back to your community, please contact me at adlewy@gmail.com .

Regards,

Andrew Lewy, 2008-2009 Golden Key Events Coordinator(Executive) and Relay For Life Co-Chairman.