How Melissa brings diverse life experiences to the Alumni Council

On Dr Melissa Afentoulis’ regular trips back to Lemnos, the Greek island where she was born, she noticed something interesting: there were increasing numbers of younger people who had been born in other countries deciding to visit the home country of their parents and grandparents.

“Whereas I was born there, and I had an existing connection, [they] were coming back for their holidays and not just loving it, but really making a connection that they had never had before,” she says.

Embracing opportunities to expand horizons

Melissa travelled the world after graduating, then returned to the University to study social work. From there, she spent over a decade in the public sector, starting as a social worker then transitioning to project management and policy development.

“I have expanded my horizons through the opportunities that I was able to find,” she says.

It’s an attitude that has served her well across her career. After 13 years in the public sector, she jumped at the chance to help establish a new migrant resource centre in South-Eastern Melbourne.

“I thought ‘oh that’s challenging, setting up an organisation from the start’,” she explains. “I wasn’t sure I was the right person, [but] my husband encouraged me. They enthusiastically offered me the job, and so I set about creating a new organisation. I loved it.”

But serving as the chief executive of a women’s health organisation in Melbourne’s west was the “best job of my life,” Melissa says. That job also spurred her to reconnect with the University of Melbourne: her employer raised the possibility of studying a Master of Public Administration and Policy, which Melissa enthusiastically undertook while working.

After finishing her Masters degree and approaching retirement age, Melissa realised she wasn’t quite finished with the University of Melbourne yet. A chance discussion with a former professor and his wife spurred her to apply for a PhD. She subsequently transformed her thesis into a book, Greek Islander Migration to Australia Since the 1950s: (Re)discovering Limnian Identity, Belonging and Home.

“I’ve always been uncertain and ambivalent, I didn’t acknowledge confidence in my abilities - that has been my bugbear throughout my story,” Melissa reflects now. “Nevertheless, I stuck to things. I’ve had great support from the individuals around me.”

Giving back to the alumni community

As well as following her curiosity, Melissa has spent much of her wide-ranging career advocating for others. In 2023, she decided to give back to the University of Melbourne, and signed up to serve on the Alumni Council.

Melissa traces her interest in volunteering, justice and equality to her experience as a migrant in Australia, including her time as an undergraduate student. “My values drive me in terms of my advocacy,” Melissa says.

“As an immigrant girl, I never felt equal. I always felt this otherness in society, school, the community and even at uni. In the mid 1970’s, there weren’t many migrant students. Everyone was different to me, I perceived most students to be more confident, much more clever, much more capable.”

While Melissa says pushing herself and aspiring for more was a “bit of a struggle” at university, she says the connections she forged really helped her become who she was.

“[Now], I use my knowledge and experience to advocate for others, and to work for the betterment of the lives of others. And that’s probably why I’ve become involved in the Alumni Council.”

The University of Melbourne’s Alumni Council has up to 18 members from around the world. It represents the many academic and professional attributes of the University’s international alumni community.

Volunteering for the Alumni Council has brought Melissa in touch with many “really interesting” people, she says. “It’s quite an amazing structure, because it’s international. Alumni are all over the world, and some of the council members are in other countries.”

She notes that she brings broad governance experience, professional wisdom and an ongoing commitment to diversity and community connections to the role.

“I draw on my experiences in any way to whatever issues the council considers. You bring everything that’s in your life experience to this kind of role.”