Brimbank resident Aristea Havelas has been nominated for the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards (YAA) for her advocacy work supporting people with disabilities and young carers at local, national and global levels.
The 24-year-old said her experiences caring for her brother from a young age helped shape her passion for advocacy.
“I’ve always known that service is a part of my life,” she said.
Ms Havelas began her advocacy and leadership journey with the non-profit Autism Angels, founded by her parents, before becoming a youth carer ambassador with Little Dreamers Australia.
She has contributed to several projects and sits on the organisation’s advisory committee, while also working with the National Leadership Forum to support young leaders across Australia.
As a global youth ambassador for children’s charity Theirworld, Ms Havelas advocates for equal access to education internationally, drawing on her own upbringing.
“Education’s been a big thing in my life. Growing up with a brother with disability; he’s been in a special education setting whereas I’ve been at mainstream so I’ve definitely seen the differences from when we were younger play out,” she said.
“It’s no fault of both systems but you do see the inequality between the way in which we were both raised in terms of access to education.”
Ms Havelas said many young carers are unable to continue secondary and tertiary education because of their additional responsibilities.
“For me it’s about doing justice to not only my younger self but to the younger kids like my brother who, 20 years ago, couldn’t be included in a mainstream setting because there was no integration. It was very much segregation and my idea is to bring both sides of the coin together,” she said.
Ms Havelas, who will complete a Master of Peace and Conflict Studies this year, hopes to work in diplomacy with the Australian government.
“That’s my main goal… It would be an honour and a dream. Anywhere I can help my community whether it be in Australia or abroad,” she said.
The 7NEWS YAA winners will be announced on 1 May.
