Students Volunteer at The Big Anxiety Festival

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Students Volunteer at The Big Anxiety Festival

There are lots of opportunities at RMIT to get a kick start on your career. With the Big Anxiety Festival on now, RMIT Wellbeing trained students are volunteering at several events that are taking place.

We spoke to Alex Ashton, who is a student studying a Bachelor of Social Sciences (psychology) to share her experience of being a volunteer at the Big Anxiety Festival, and how the training provided helped prepare her for the opportunity.

The training covered their roles and boundaries, when they should be concerned about someone, steps for having a supportive conversation, guiding someone to appropriate support and looking after themselves while dealing with difficult content.

big anxiety student volunteer

Alex Ashton volunteering at the Awkward Conversations event.

Previously, Alex has volunteered at an ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) showcase, and this time Alex was given practical tools to support people during her training with RMIT’s Wellbeing for The Big Anxiety Festival – she talked to us about her experience and the value of the training provided.

What do you hope to achieve through your volunteering experience?

“I wanted to volunteer so that I could make some connections with people with similar interests. I have anxiety myself, and I am interested in other people's experiences of mental health. I hoped to get some insight into the different kinds of things happening in the mental health space.”

What events will you / have you been volunteering at?

“I volunteered at the ACMI showcase, which consisted of 5 different Virtual Reality experiences. This was an excellent day, I really enjoyed connecting with researchers and staff from UNSW and RMIT. I will also be at the Awkward Conversations event at the RMIT Garden Building, we're I am looking forward to seeing more of the Big Anxiety Festival and talking to more people!”

What did you enjoy most about the training?

“I liked that we were given some practical tools to support people who might need it during the Big Anxiety Festival. We were given the knowledge in a way that felt empowering. I felt trusted to exercise my own judgement of the situation and do what feels right.”

Find more information on how to get involved in more volunteering opportunities at RMIT here

Story by RMIT student Jamima Ahmad Yazit

18 October 2022

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