Sir John Monash Youth Leadership Award Winner 2024

Published on 07 October 2024

Thomas Maguire-Nguyen is an active member of the Monash Youth Committee, an inclusive group of young people committed to creating greater connections between the Monash youth and Council. Thomas assists with new member inductions, speaking at community events and organising Youth Committee social events and was recognised for his contribution to the group by being elected as chair of the Committee.

He founded Per Vocem Vita - a youth-staffed and youth-led community organisation that runs Public Speaking and Debating Workshops for primary schools. Thomas now acts as the director and is a key figure in helping the organisation grow to 80 youth volunteers.

We took some time out of Thomas’ busy schedule to ask him a few questions.

What inspired you to initiate the Per Vocem Vita organisation?

I started Per Vocem Vita because I recognised the value that Public Speaking and Debating skills have for young people. Personally, I went through a public speaking training process in primary school, which was being offered by a local community member. This public speaking opportunity allowed me to open up, become more confident, and start thinking about the world's issues, politics, and other important ideas. When I found out that after COVID the community member was not going to continue the program, I decided to grab a handful of my friends to offer a one-day workshop to my primary school. What we found after running the one-day incursion was that not only did the students enjoy it, but we did too! From there, we've expanded from just 9 volunteers to over 80, and have since provided workshops to hundreds of students.

What skills have you developed through your civic participation and leadership opportunities?

Through my involvement in the Monash Youth Committee, the Ashwood Youth Committee with Matt Fregon MP, and work with individual MPs and community leaders, I've learned a myriad of skills. Some great skills for anyone to learn are compromise, because being able to talk with people and change their minds and reach an agreeable decision for everyone can help you resolve conflict and get things done. However, I would say the most important skill that I've learnt is how to connect and build relationships with people. It's surprising how much you can get done when you know the right people and have connections to utilise! This is useful in whatever field a person wants to get into, and it's a skill that I treasure.

What does winning the youth leadership award mean to you?

To me, this is just a pointer that I'm going in the right direction! I'm immensely grateful for the award, and I'm going to try and use this privilege to get more young people involved with their governments and becoming active leaders within their community. As I walk around school and meet new young people, I continually am finding more and more people who have the skills and talent needed to become local heroes, and I partly view awards like these as a way of motivating those talented individuals into applying those skills and fostering change. I can only hope that winning the youth leadership awards will mean that more young people are inspired to lead!