Afsheen Asif’s graduation speech touched many people in the audience when she said the course didn’t just teach her skills but helped to rebuild her self-belief in a new environment.
Moira Shire Council’s third Community Leadership Program has finished, with 13 graduates now ready to further their places as leaders in Moira communities.
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Moira Shire Council chair administrator, Dr Graeme Emonson thanked the graduates for stepping outside their comfort zones to gain new skills, knowledge and confidence.
“The program has fostered collaboration, inclusion, accountability and collective strength, while teaching the value of giving and receiving support,” Dr Emonson said.
“These lessons complement the practical topics covered throughout the program, including communication and conflict management, emergency preparedness, good governance and meeting procedures, project planning and public speaking.
“All designed to help our graduates build resilient and thriving communities across Moira Shire.”
The latest graduates are a diverse mix of backgrounds, ages and careers.
Some joined the program seeking help with specific skills; others used it to deepen their existing commitment to their community.
Some newcomers saw it as a stepping stone into their new community.
Moira Shire Council’s Community Leadership Program graduates are (from left) Tracey Duhring, Lachlan Andrew, Afsheen Asif, Rebecca Creer, Sandy Pennington, Anthea Buckley, Danni Whinray, Ireland Letson, Fiona Nethercott, Madi McDiarmid and Ben Brooks. ABSENT: Renate Buckmaster and Kerryn Molone.
Afsheen Asif sits in the last category, and her speech at the recent graduation ceremony touched many people in the audience.
“My reason for joining the Moira Shire’s Community Leadership Program was simple: I wanted to meet people and be a better communicator with my second language,” Afsheen said.
“This course didn’t just teach me skills; it helped me rebuild my self-belief in a new environment.”
Afsheen works for Yarrawonga Health and said she didn’t expect the program to shape her career.
But it improved her speaking skills and confidence so much she was offered a new work role within a month of starting the course.
She said the program was a mirror reflecting the diversity in Moira Shire.
“I feel like we are a community, not because we are the same, but because we choose to share our differences.”
Afsheen said thanks to the program, and despite being 11,000 kilometres from her native country, “I have a community now, I have friends, I have a Shire that I call mine”.
“I came here for an opportunity and I found something better – I found a sense of belonging.”
Dr Emonson hopes more people who aspire to be leaders or want to strengthen their existing leadership roles in the community will apply for the 2026 Community Leadership Program.
“Leadership is in the everyday actions of those who care enough to make a difference, those who listen deeply, act bravely and bring others with them,” he said.
“I look forward to seeing what the leadership of our latest graduates looks like in action.”
Information about the 2026 program will be provided as it becomes available.
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