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So hello, my name is Sue-Anne Hess. I'm proud to have completed studies at Saint Paul University. I'm just commencing my third degree here. I completed my first Masters in Conflict Studies 2010 to 2012, completed the Masters in

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Transformative Leadership and Spirituality 2021 to 2023, and I'm now entering the PhD program in Interdisciplinary Studies. I can remember the first day I set foot on campus here at Saint Paul's. Some friends of mine who studied here thought that it

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would be fun for us to get together and have a coffee together on campus. And the moment I stepped foot on campus, I felt completely at ease. I I felt a peace that really surprised me. And at the time, my friends were trying to talk

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me into commencing the the conflict studies program. And I really, up until that moment, wasn't sure if it was right to me. But the moment I was here on campus and I felt the the sense of community here and the sense of collegiality, it was I

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was home. So I started the Masters in conflict studies a few months later as an international student. So took on all the challenges that come with being a student from Australia and studying here. And as I say to people, it was like

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fitting a hand into a glove or if you'd prefer, I felt like a kid in a candy store. There were so many people I could learn from, so many people who inspired me through the classes, through the learning materials that we had.

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I had so many questions and this was the place for me to be, to ask those questions. It was amazing to be involved in the different conferences that we had back then on campus. It was amazing, all of the people from other countries that I met who

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had these incredible stories, and I was so in awe of all of them from my first degree. I would say that my only regret then was that perhaps I was a little shy and a little intimidated. So I I

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came back to do the Masters in Transformative Leadership in 2021, and I thought, no, I'm gonna go for it. I'm gonna say yes to every opportunity that comes up. I'm gonna get to know the other

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students. Even though we're studying online. I'm gonna get as involved as I can get. I'm gonna ask any question. I won't be shy. I'm just gonna dive right in. And these past two years in the Masters and transformative leadership have

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been so much fun. I've had so many conversations that have opened my eyes and really inspired me, and more than anything else have really built confidence in me to speak up about things if I have an opinion or a view, and to be

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able to share my thoughts with a with a good amount of confidence. Imagine my surprise when the the interdisciplinary PhD was suggested to me. And even now I find the idea that someone like

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me is doing a PhD. And yet the environment here is so supportive and people are so enthusiastic about research. There are so many different options available to me as a PhD candidate. It's three weeks in and I'm having a blast, so I

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would have to report myself as Saint Paul Universities #1 fan and I'm very happy to be to be here and to be entering into this new adventure of the next four years. So hopefully you'll see me around the halls because I'm going to

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be here for a while.