“If life deals you a bad hand, use it to win anyway. Turn your weaknesses into strength” – Patrick Onek
Patrick lived his life as a refugee for over 10 years in Kakauma Refugee camp. As a young child, He always had a reoccurring dream, this dream was to live in a place where there wasn’t constant death. Where He could eat as much as his heart and stomach desired, without worrying about what to eat the next day. One day, Patrick received a once in a lifetime ticket. An opportunity per say, a dream come true, to migrate to Australia. He thought this was it! However, he would soon learn that the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side. Hire Patrick and hear a tale of hope, perseverance and self-belief. A young mans treacherous journey from a refugee to an Australian citizen.
Patrick was the guest speaker for our recent Diversity and Inclusion event. Patrick was awesome at presenting his life experiences and was very interactive and engaging with the audience. We had plenty of positive feedback from the team who found Patrick's story very captivating and relevant from outlining the benefits of having an inclusive and diverse workplace. I would recommend Patrick to present at future events.
It was wonderful to have Patrick present at our recent mental health day for staff. Patrick was engaging, warm, humorous, and was incredibly generous in his sharing of his life experiences. We had lots of feedback from the team who found many aspects of Patrick's story compelling, challenging, and relevant.
Recently we asked Patrick to speak to our year 11 cohort (310 students) with a theme of Leadership without a Badge. Patrick was the ultimate professional. He adapted his presentation to narrow in on what we had been exploring with the students. They connected with his message perfectly. Year 11 Students Patrick Onek, or more commonly known as the "African Next Door" visited our school to give an absolutely awe-inspiring and motivational speech. His speech was engaging and taught us many lessons about leadership. We are extremely grateful for him teaching us that a leader is not always the loudest and most confident one, but maybe the quieter person. After his speech I am sure that many people in our class had the courage to come to their final decision to become a leader. Thank you from 11E Thank you Patrick you have inspired many of the students to lead without a badge and given a number of them confidence to apply for leadership positions next year.
Patrick is remarkable. I invited Patrick to speak to my Year 7 students about his experience as a refugee to help the students gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and hardships refugees face in their pursuit of asylum here in Australia. Both myself and the students were so grateful to Patrick for sharing his story with us so openly and generously. He had my Year 7 students totally captivated with his inspirational story, and his personal account provided them with a unique insight into his life in South Sudan and the circumstances that compelled him and his family to seek refuge. The courage and determination he exhibited throughout his journey helped the students to better understand the importance of compassion, and the transformative impact we can have when we act with kindness, and open our hearts and invite people from diverse backgrounds to share their stories. We are so grateful to have hosted Patrick at our College and look forward to welcoming him back in the future!
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