The Vice Chancellor’s Ancora Imparo Leadership Program is Monash University’s most prestigious leadership development offering. It offers second-year undergraduates the opportunity to join like-minded people and learn from leading figures about their leadership experience and life skills.  Each year, hundreds of students apply for the forty available places. Testament to the strong leadership culture within our College community, Mannix residents have often been selected for the program. In 2022, Alexander Unmack was chosen for the program and four Mannixians have been selected for 2023.

This year I had the opportunity to participate in the Ancora Imparo Program. 

The eight seminars provide Ancorans with an opportunity to develop their leadership skills and gain an understanding of current issues through the lens of their peers. As a group of 40 Monash students, we met once a month over the course of the year to discuss leadership influences in different sectors of the workforce and general aspects of everyday life. 

Further, the program represents a rare opportunity to engage with students across a varying array of faculties and specialisations. This interdisciplinary interaction and collaboration cannot be found elsewhere, enhancing the value for all involved.

Many unique elements made up the program. We participated in a 3-day residential which was a combination of discussions with inspiring guest speakers, interactive workshops and challenging activities. From speakers dedicated to charity activities to experienced political leaders and Ancoran alumni, we had the chance to learn about different aspects of being effective leaders in our society.

The defining feature of the program was the opportunity to present a syndicate presentation, surrounding a topic that addressed one of the many current issues within modern-day society. We learned so much from these seminars as well as had the opportunity to view issues from multiple different perspectives.

Overall, it was an incredible experience to watch the members of the program break apart their topics among themselves and provide us with key insight into certain issues including volunteerism, racism, generation gaps, globalisation and many more. 

Our experience with the program has been incredibly rewarding, from which we have learned a great deal and made a lot of new friends that we will be sharing our journey with.

– Alexander Unmack