Today on Better Student Leaders, I’m joined by Shivani Tholasi, Membership and Higher Education Coordinator at the Institute of Managers and Leaders Australia and New Zealand. Shivani has coordinated the Most Impactful Mentoring Program Award three years in a row, recognised internationally on the Mentorloop platform.

In this episode, Shivani shares the secrets behind building award-winning mentoring programs—from flexibility and tailoring experiences, to ongoing support, mentoring agreements, checklists, and even gamification. She also shares a powerful story and analogy of mentoring as a work of art—where the mentee is the canvas, and the mentor brings the brushes and colours of their experience.

For university staff, student leaders, and anyone running mentoring programs, this conversation is packed with practical insights and heartfelt reminders: that mentoring isn’t just about numbers, it’s about connection, creativity, and relationships that change lives.

🔑 Key Quotes

• “Mentoring isn’t just professional development — every relationship is a chance to inspire, shape a future, and create something meaningful.”

• “True impact of mentoring isn’t measured in numbers — it’s measured in human connections and growth.”

• “Flexibility, personalization, and continuous support — those are the three pillars of any mentoring program that truly works.”

• “A mentoring agreement sets clear expectations. It’s not about control, it’s about giving both mentors and mentees the confidence to grow together.”

• “Even small wins matter — whether it’s a first meeting badge or a shared story on LinkedIn, gamification makes mentoring fun and motivating.”

🔑 Key Links

👉 Connect with Shivani on LinkedIn here: Shivani Tholasi

👉 Learn more about IML ANZ’s award-winning mentoring programs here: IML Mentoring Program

In this episode of Better Student Leaders, I sit down with Andy Skidmore, CEO of the Youth Impact Foundation — a not-for-profit that now reaches over 160,000 young people each year across Australia and New Zealand.

Andy shares the remarkable journey from founding Burn Bright to integrating nine youth organisations into one collaborative model. We dive into the tough but vital questions: how do you scale programs that rely on people, not software? How do you keep quality while expanding impact? And how do you lead with others instead of over them?

We also explore why relationships are the foundation of both wellbeing and leadership, the messy joy of scaling humans, and what servant leadership really looks like in practice.

Whether you’re supporting 200 students or dreaming of reaching 20,000, Andy’s insights on vision, collaboration, and contribution will give you practical strategies and fresh inspiration for your own leadership journey.

👉 Learn more about the Youth Impact Foundation: youthimpactfoundation.org.au

📖 And don’t miss my new book Lessons from 100,000 Student Leaders — packed with quick, practical insights for students and educators. Available now: https://amzn.asia/d/0m88HG6

🔑 Key Quotes from the Episode

• “What’s the biggest way I can make the biggest impact on the biggest group of people possible?”

• “Scaling humans is messy, but it’s also so joyful — because if you weren’t doing this in a team, it’d be really hard to show up every day.”

• “The quality of your relationships determines the quality of the culture. As a leader, you’ve got to model relationships first.”

• “Being the hero as a leader is not always helpful. Sometimes the greatest impact comes from stepping back so your team can step forward.”

• “Servant leadership doesn’t mean giving away your power — it means listening, learning, and then having the courage to set a bold direction that serves the community.”

In this special edition of Better Student Leaders, Josh reads aloud his whitepaper Why Great Student Leaders Quit: Redesigning Residential Leadership that Builds College Culture without Student Leaders Burning Out. Drawing on insights from more than a dozen senior staff and student leaders across eight Australian universities, the paper explores the hidden costs of burnout, why even the most capable student leaders feel overwhelmed, and how colleges can redesign their leadership systems for sustainability.

Listeners will hear the six recurring reasons great student leaders quit—from unclear expectations to the emotional load of “wearing two hats”—and the six redesign principles that transform burnout into resilience:

• clarifying expectations,
• embedding ongoing training,
• structured support,
• recognition pathways,
• succession planning, and
• balancing the emotional load.

This is both a cautionary tale and a roadmap: if we want student leadership to remain the cornerstone of community and culture, we must design systems that set leaders up for success.

Key Quotes

• “Students felt like they were being squeezed so tight… They were trying their hardest, but nothing felt good enough. One mistake from one student out of 400 could dismantle all their good work in the public eye.” – College Dean

• “There is a really high expectation of work — people don’t realise how much it takes to turn the cogs in the wheels of a college.” – Polly Lewis, Student President

• “Burnout doesn’t just impact the leader. It ripples out to peers, staff, and the entire institution.” – Whitepaper insight

• “Clear is kind, unclear is unkind.” – Brené Brown (cited in the whitepaper)

• “We went from half the leaders quitting to full retention and triple the number of applications. It shows how expectation-setting, scaffolded training, and embedding a service mindset can transform not just a team, but an entire culture.” – College Dean

• “If you’re eating in the dining hall with your friends, you are not eating in the dining hall with your friends — you are the President eating in the dining hall with your friends.” – James Hardiman, Principal of St Hilda’s College

📖 Episode Summary

From managing leisure centres in the UK to leading UQ Sport, steering the QUT Guild through reform, and now shaping the Student Experience Network, Paul Clayton has spent his career building communities where students thrive. In this conversation, Paul shares what makes a great student organisation, the difference between student voice and representation, and why accountability and governance matter. We explore inspiring stories of student leaders who reshaped constitutions, the growing focus on wellbeing and governance reform across Australia, and what’s in store for SENCON 2025 in Brisbane. Paul leaves us with a simple but powerful lesson: the best student leaders put service at the centre of everything they do.

💬 Key Quotes

• “What makes a good student organisation is leaders who want to be the voice of students, not just the voice of themselves.”

• “I never went to uni straight from school, but working alongside students opened my eyes — their energy, their honesty, their fresh ideas.”

• “Put a student on a university board and what you create is transparency and accountability. How can that ever be a bad thing?”

• “When run well, student guilds and unions are an absolute asset to any university. Any university that thinks otherwise is wrong.”

In this episode of Better Student Leaders, Josh sits down with Jaimee Evans (Student Events Manager, UoW Pulse) and Demelza “DJ” Jones (Student Experience Manager, UoW Pulse) to explore how the University of Wollongong builds thriving student communities through leadership, events, and clubs.

From major cultural events like Diwali to grassroots volunteering, Jaimee and DJ share how they’ve cultivated an environment where students don’t just attend activities — they co-create them. The conversation dives into the barriers that hold students back, the tactics that actually work to boost engagement and the transformation that happens when hesitant students step into leadership roles. With inspiring case studies (including a club leader who went from uncertain volunteer to board member and campus policy-shaper), the episode highlights the role of opportunity, confidence, and momentum in developing future leaders.

If you’re a student engagement professional, this episode will spark ideas you can apply right away: from building authentic relationships with clubs, to empowering students as role models, to designing programs where learning, bravery, and growth go hand in hand.

🎤 Jaimee Evans – Quotes

1. “Leadership is an opportunity to invest in yourself — developing practical and career-readiness skills that will propel you forward in whatever path you choose.”

2. “Confidence isn’t just about stepping up; it’s about giving yourself permission to make mistakes, because university is the safest place to learn and grow.”

3. “The best leaders never stop learning. Our perspectives change as we grow — so let your leadership style evolve too.”

4. “We can’t do what we do without students. When they co-create events with us, it becomes truly for students, by students.”

   
   

🎤 Demelza “DJ” Jones – Quotes

1. “Leadership is simply stepping up to make things better — for yourself, your mates, and your community.”

2. “There’s no quick fix for engaging clubs. It’s about putting in the hard yards, building friendships, and showing up for them.”

3. “When students see their peers leading, they think: if they can do it, I can too. That’s the real power of role models.”

4. “True leadership is knowing when to step up — and when to step back so someone else’s strengths can shine.” 

To find out more about our work building 'better student leaders', visit www.campusconsultancy.org

In this episode of Better Student Leaders, host Josh Farr chats with Stef Maccar, a trailblazer in student engagement with over 15 years of experience at Monash Student Association and a Director on the Student Experience Network Board. Stef shares how an unexpected start in student radio reshaped her career, and how that passion evolved into building volunteer programs that now engage thousands of students each year.

From her innovative Welfare Warriors leadership program, which gives students the freedom to test and fail safely, to her unique approach of turning volunteers into future staff, Stef reveals the power of pairing passion with humility. Her insights offer a practical roadmap for anyone looking to grow better student leaders who make university better for everyone.

Connect with Stef here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefaniemaccar/?originalSubdomain=au

TOP QUOTES:

1. “I’m not looking for leadership experience — I’m looking for passion.”

2. “Volunteering should be a safe space to test, experiment, and even fail — with a safety net underneath you.”

3. “Every staff member in my department started as a volunteer — that’s the culture we’ve built.”

How do you set and achieve your goals? In this episode, you will hear my thoughts on the importance of goal setting, how to focus on the life you want to create and actionable tips to bring that life into reality! A big thanks to the Dose of Pharma Vodcast (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-TQiJp0Rk9GiHDGIRTktIQ) team for this interview.

Reach out to let us know what you thought by visiting:

[email protected] or https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdfarr/

You can also visit:

www.campusconsultancy.org for more information on our workshops

and/or

https://campusconsultancy.thinkific.com/ for more information on our online courses.

Thanks for listening and we hope to speak with you soon!

How do you have abundant energy and keep it all day long? In this episode, I’ll share with you an example from our monthly coaching program where we take a range of high performing leaders through the skills, mindsets, frameworks and tactics to level-up their energy and keep them performing at their best. If you’re looking for an energy-edge, this is the episode for you!

Reach out to let us know what you thought by visiting:

[email protected] or https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdfarr/

You can also visit:

www.campusconsultancy.org for more information on our workshops

and/or

https://campusconsultancy.thinkific.com/ for more information on our online courses.

Thanks for listening and we hope to speak with you soon!

In this episode, you'll hear from 4 of the 6 guests on our recent Coffee with Campus Consultancy episode to help you get experience and stand out as a volunteer!

Our guests include:

Vishwa Mehta ⭐, Founder/Curator/Licensee, TEDxVictoriaUniversity (https://www.linkedin.com/company/teamtedxvictoriauniversity/)

Stevye Ellman, National Volunteer Manager, OzHarvest (https://www.linkedin.com/company/ozharvest/)

Ben Poveda-Alfonso, Co-Founder, Kindness Shake(https://www.linkedin.com/company/kindnessshakent/)

Reach out to let us know what you thought by visiting:

[email protected] or https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdfarr/

You can also visit:

www.campusconsultancy.org for more information on our workshops

and/or

https://campusconsultancy.thinkific.com/ for more information on our online courses.

Thanks for listening and we hope to speak with you soon!

In this episode, you'll hear Patty Jin interview Josh about self-awareness, emotional intelligence and entrepreneurship.

Patty has amassed hundreds of subscribers on her Youtube Channel and thousands of views talking about her weight-loss journey. 

If you're interested in developing the skills and mindsets to overcome challenges in your life, we hope you'll enjoy this episode.

Reach out to let us know what you thought by visiting:

[email protected] or https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdfarr/

You can also visit:

www.campusconsultancy.org for more information on our workshops 

and/or

https://campusconsultancy.thinkific.com/ for more information on our online courses.

Thanks for listening and we hope to speak with you soon!