Taking it day by day
Regardless of where you are in the world, the fire inside you will continue to burn. Kim is a young woman with a global perspective, born in Zimbabwe, raised in England, and now living and making impact in Australia. Kim was recently awarded the Australian Multicultural Foundation Carla Zampatti Scholarship for Young Women, which recognises her work across community empowering young women in the region of Gippsland. CMY had a chat with Kim about what’s on her mind right now and her dreams for the future.
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Kim and I am 23, turning 24 soon. I moved to Australia when I was 14. I’ve always wanted to help people but wasn’t quite sure how to do it. In England I was involved with multicultural communities as a youth parliamentary member to try and make a change for the youth of colour. When I moved to Australia, everything was new but also the same. I went to high school, graduated in 2017 and began my studies in pharmacy. I realised there wasn’t a lot of people that looked like me that had achieved the grades I had achieved whilst in high school, and I wanted to understand why. In my research, it became clear that there was a lack of understanding of the ATAR system in the community and my interest in policy and research grew.
I am also a creative. I love reading and recently started my YouTube channel, Kim Renee TV, as a creative outlet. It’s been a place for me to explore my expression and create a platform to share the stories I care about.
Kim’s first YouTube video, an interview with Amapiano artist Musa Keys, can be viewed HERE.
What have you been up to the last few years?
I completed my Bachelor of Pharmacy degree at RMIT University in 2021, and I am working as a Pharmacist Manager but I have a lot of interests. In 2022, I gave a speech at La Trobe about Leading Innovation in Empowering Young Women. I’m really passionate about this space. From there, I met the CMY team and was involved in creating the ‘Double Standards’ podcast, which is focused on amplifying diverse voices and providing a platform for those who are often overlooked. These projects led to Julia from the CMY Gippsland team encouraging me to apply for the scholarship, which I was so happy to receive.
What did you learn from these experiences?
Generally, I learnt that Australia is a really supportive country and there are a lot of opportunities out there if you seek them out. There’s people out there who want to support you, but you have to have the confidence to put yourself forward to receive these opportunities.
In both finding CMY and working with the team on ‘Double Standards’, I can see that we still have quite a bit to go in diversifying who creates culture and systems, and inspiring young multicultural people to find their place in doing so.
We can have big goals and dreams but these are often a lot easier said than done. I learnt how passionately I want to be a part of creating those safe spaces and closing that missing link.
You were recently awarded the Australian Multicultural Foundation Carla Zampatti Scholarship for Young Women and were the recipient of $2,500. What does that mean to you?
It really means the world to me. I applied with a project to elevate my ‘Kim Renee TV’. I want to use my YouTube channel to create a platform dedicated to telling stories of people in the community doing inspiring things. The scholarship money will go towards the costs of creating it and make the project a real possibility.
It’s more than the money too – it means a lot for a large organisation to recognise and believe in me. They’ve co-signed my dream.
As a young person, what’s on your mind right now?
A lot! I have the basic everyday worries of packing my lunch, going to the gym, what outfit I’m going to wear today etc. But on a bigger scale, I think your 20s are some of the most confusing times – do I want to travel? Buy a house? Invest? Should I work full time? Am I ready?
But recently, and what I want more of for 2024, is to just take things one day at a time. Every little action is a step closer to my goals. You need to have the fun too.
What’s your biggest dream right now?
My eventual dream is to create a system and a platform to educate and empower young people on a day-to-day basis. People don’t really believe in themselves, I want to be the voice for them.
If you could share one piece of advice to other young people, what would it be?
It’s never too late to be what you could have become … it’s all going to work, just take it one day at a time.
You can listen to ‘Double Standards’ podcast here.