Voices of Us Ep. 8: Auriel: Malaysia to Melbourne: The Journey of a Queer International Student

City of Melbourne Libraries

'Malaysia to Melbourne: The Journey of a Queer International Student' About Voices of Us: 'Voices of Us' is a podcast that shares authentic stories from LGBTQIA+ international students, alumni and allies. Trigger warning: Trigger warning: the content contains discussions about some challenging life experiences that may be distressing for some listeners. Please look for professional support if you need. About this episode This episode is part of the project “Voices of Us Ripples.” What it was like moving to a new country as a 16-years-old Malaysian queer international student? In this episode, you will hear from Auriel's journey of navigating transitions, from being silent about her sexuality to coming out to family and friends, from living in Malaysia to settling in Melbourne, and from a foundation-study international student to a professional working full-time in an Australian government department. Embracing changes and challenges and finding connections in the mainstream LGBTQIA+ environment can be difficult. Through listening to Auriel’s stories, you will discover strengths, courage, and tips in different life and career stages. About the speaker Auriel (she/her) is from Malaysia and has lived in Melbourne for the last nine years. As an international student alumnus who is part of the LGBTQIA+ community, she loves meeting others who share these experiences and listening to their stories. Auriel works in Climate Change and Renewable Energy policy currently focusing on climate justice for First Nations people in Victoria. Outside work, Auriel’s life revolves around eating good food (especially dessert), trying to maintain a social life and taking naps with her greyhound, Daphne. Follow Auriel: / auriellanutella About the host: Feifei Liao was born and raised in Sichuan, China. She is multi-passionate, multi-disciplinary and multi-lingual, with the energy to light up a room. As a founder of a couple of social enterprises, creative producer, facilitator, multi-cultural and community development advisor, dancer, mental health speaker, recovery educator, and advocate for inclusion, diversity and equity, bringing people together through creativity, stories and shared experience is Feifei’s heartland. Follow Feifei: feifeicuriosity.com Acknowledgment of partners and funding body This episode is: Produced by: Our Point 3 Supported by the Victorian Government through the Healthy Equal Youth (HEY) program, City of Melbourne Libraries and Feifei Curiosity. The beautiful stories of Voices of Us, born from the vision of Co-inventors, have now gracefully continued under the care of Our Point 3. Our Point 3 is a not-for-profit organisation bringing LGBTQIA+ international students, alumni and allies together, to enable our community to grow and thrive in an inclusive, welcoming and equitable world. Voices of Us Production Team: Feifei Liao (she/her) - Founder, director, host Yihan Li (she/her) - Podcast Coordinator Jespher Wen (he/him) - Communications Officer Seng Doi - Podcast Engineer Tom Zeng (he/him) - Project Support Officer Connect with Our Point 3 Like and subscribe to our channels to stay updated with new episodes Website: https://www.ourpoint3.org/voices-of-us Facebook: / ourpoint3.org Instagram: / ourpoint3 LinkedIn: / ourpoint3 YouTube: / @voicesofus.3 @ourpoint3 #voicesofus #VOUep8