Rishana Oakley

• Identified knowledge gaps in underprivileged student cohorts and led the strategic design and curation of two toolkits, creating a more accessible format for more than 800 students to improve graduation rates under the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program
• Published a policy analysis paper that analysed The Migration Amendment Bill 2021 against international human rights standards, and which was chosen to be published in a university journal
• Researched and identified policy gaps in tailored support and resettlement programs for LGBTQI+ and gender diverse people with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds
• Volunteered at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s reception, engaging CALD communities and ensuring colleagues felt supported
• Conducted qualitative research into the student experience of the Deakin Business School (DBS) to assist in internal improvements and for it to be reaccredited.

Rishana has volunteered at multiple organisations that focus on championing the rights of people with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds, through supporting the provision of basic needs and the empowerment of young people within an educational setting. She also supported and completed projects with Deakin University to assess the student experience and develop training programs to ensure specific student communities could access resources to improve graduation rates.

Rishana graduated from a Bachelor of Commerce (economics) and a Bachelor of International Studies (international relations), partially completed at Sophia University (Jochi Daigaku) in Tokyo.

Rishana enjoys spending time with her friends, having a beer in the park, playing a thrilling game of Catan or cooking a feast to share.