I am 24, and of Chinese background. I was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 1975, lived in Christchurch, New Zealand from 1979 to 1985 and moved to Australia in November 1985. SInce that time I have very proudly lived in Sydney a city which for me will always be home!

Studies in Liberal Arts, Law and Business feature in my academic background. None of these, however was captivating enough for me so I have yet to complete these any of these degrees.

My professional background is primarily in tourism. For five years I held a number of positions at AMP Tower, Centrepoint, one of Sydney and Australia's most famous icons. When I left Centrepoint, I was part of the management team, responsible for the day to day operations and human resource functions of the Tower.

A short period in the Information Technology industry, where I held a sales account management role was my next challenge. The change of not only industry but also role proved to be an excellent learning experience for me.

In January to March of 1999 I had the honour of working with a team of twelve other young Australians in representing Australia on the 11th Ship for World Youth Programme. As Assistant National Leader of that delegation I had the good fortune to work with and learn from a wonderful National Leader and a fantastic group of Aussies. The experiences of that programme have shown me that although I am a smaller fish that I thought I was, in a big pond that is much bigger than I realised, my contributions are more important than I previously believed.

One of my core values is that I contribute to the society in which I live, repay it for all the wonderful things it has let me experience and all the opportunities it has presented to me, and help others to achieve the very best that they can. Some of the ways that I am able to do this is as a facilitator for a number of youth and leadership seminars and forums, including the Johnson & Johnson New Leaders Forum, and through my role as Project Coordinator for The Inspiration Network, Inc.

The New Leaders Forums seeks to be a catalyst for young Australians to discover their own leadership potential, and to provide the stimulation to start them on the way to realising that potential.

The Inspiration Network, Inc. seeks to provide motivation for young Australians still at secondary school. As a non profit organsiation which brings together dynamic young Australians who are achieving their goals and who want to share their enthusiam, insight and experiences with students who are able to can benefit from it, TIN Inc. is a fine example of the true Australian spirit.

I am involved with the Ship for World Youth because it provides opportunities to meet with, learn from and impact on young leaders from all around the world. The spirit of the Ship, and the aims of the programme, "to promote international cooperation and understanding, and the competence to practice it" are very much aligned with my core values.

I am greatly enjoying working with the Australian Delegation as we prepare for SWY12, and am really looking forward to the next 12 weeks.