This morning we had an unusual experience of "when it rains, it pours" after a leak started coming down through the ceiling on to our members in the breakfast room! Thankfully our 5-minute speaker Phil Caughey was resilient and continued his interesting talk about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used in Japan in the retail sector.  

After moving a number of our members to a safer & drier area, our good humoured guest speaker Victoria Brownlee, engaged us with her inspiring life story.

In her talk - "Defying the smashed avocado stereotype", Victoria Brownlee made a compelling plea to "give Millennials a chance" in that her generation are not all "spending their money on smashed avocado toast for breakfast, nor are they self-centred and politically disinterested."

Victoria began her story when she was diagnosed with a condition of chronic fatigue syndrome at the age of 16 which changed her view on life. Describing chronic fatigue syndrome as "feeling as if you are dying every day," she never thought about what life would be like if she got better. Thanks to a controversial treatment called "lightning process" Victoria was cured when she was 19.  From then on, she was on a path towards overachievement and filled with the desire to make the world a better place.

Victoria described how her improved health brought upon a new perspective of the world and inspired her to do whatever is necessary to make her dreams come true. While studying her final year of law at Auckland uni, she experienced a change of heart when a lawyer presenting from Russell McVeigh told her and her fellow students that they need to be certain that law is where they want to be before they commit further to becoming clerks and lawyers. That piece of advice turned her away from law to international politics.

After organising a US multi-city tour of global companies such as Facebook, Google, United Nations, etc. for 14 top students from the best universities in New Zealand, Victoria became inspired by the people she met and the places she visited. Upon returning to Auckland, she aspired to learn more about international politics and to live in NYC. After applying for grant and internship at the United Nations Office of Disarmament, she got accepted and made her dream come true. As the first New Zealand intern at the UN Office of Disarmament, she shared with us how much awe she felt to be in the room with high level diplomats who discussed issues of nuclear weapons and peace.

Victoria demonstrated enthusiasm and hope for the future while simultaneously appealing to all of us to give millennials a chance. Just imagine all the good we can do if we combine our wisdom and experience with the enthusiasm and energy of the millennials... Now there's a recipe for success.

With the cooler weather now, the time is right for Tree Planting. Over the next few weeks you will see different opportunities to participate in tree planting activities at our local school partners. Please contact Kenneth if you would like to help out.

In addition, our speaker next week Tanya Hart, will talk about how one man's vision (Sir Stephen Tindall) for a native tree campaign became a reality. 

Have a great week!

Lucy