Nhung Vo Attended RYLA 9800 as a participant in 2015 Now works as a project coordinator for a builder in the construction industry and is the host of Everyday People Podcast with Nhung Vo.​
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Why did you do RYLA?
I did RYLA because I had no plans the week that it was running, the programme was fully funded for, and there was a huge theme around community and diversity, which are topics I have always been passionate about. I also enjoy meeting new people, going camping away from the city life and self-development. And you know what? RYLA exceeded my expectations! It was challenging, eye-opening, resourceful and planted seeds for passion projects to come alive years later.
 
What did RYLA mean to you?
RYLA to me is all about rubbing shoulders and having exposure to different people, ideas and opinions to expand what your mind used to believe and to expand the possibilities that you once thought were limited. RYLA delves into tough topics and encourages participants to speak up, share their thoughts, debate and discuss. At the same time, RYLA challenges participants to keep an open mind, to listen, to want to learn more and to understand better. Some of these controversial but need to be talked about topics include racism, the world of binaries and insecurities. Get ready to be mind blown and enlightened by people from different walks of life!
 
How has RYLA helped you on the path you walk today?
Soon after RYLA, I kept in contact with a few girls, a comedian, naturopathy enthusiast, marketing specialist and creative hippie. I made the effort to reach out and continue to connect with these girls because I love and appreciated what they were all about. We also all have the same top values, which is a thirst to see and embrace change and self-development. To be honest if I didn’t attend RYLA I would have never met such diverse women who shape who I am today. Where do you think I’d bump into a comedian? I never went to or knew of free comedy shows in Melbourne and have never been to the International Comedy Festival before. Where do you think I would’ve bumped into the other girls? Again, I would not have bumped into them in my engineering or construction world. These girls also came from different suburbs, some suburbs where I have never stepped foot into. Basically our differences opened up and expanded my world and my perspective. This led me to overall become a less judgemental person when meeting new people and who now appreciates diversity at a new level. And I just had to share that very special learning with my direct community. My first project was hosting the International Women’s Day Intimate Dinner with Speakers for 30 women in diverse industries. The 3rd dinner I hosted this year was sponsored by my work INTREC and was curated for women in construction and had guests who were architects, subcontractors, engineers, and project managers in one room. And guess who were behind me and the project from day dot, who collaborated with me and who helped drive the momentum that made these events successful? These RYLA girls of course! Without them and without my vision brought upon by RYLA, this project would have been stuck in a black hole somewhere. With the same foundations I’ve also started a podcast this year called Everyday People Podcast with Nhung Vo where I interview and chat with diverse guests about their story, learnings and life tools. Again I want to showcase that sharing our differences makes each other more colourful. And at the same time I want to showcase that we are also all the same and go through the same highs and lows of life. Maybe you’d like to join me on this journey ignited by RYLA and tune it? It is available on iTunes and Spotify.