by Dr Bibiana Chan
Hi, I’m Bibi, someone who wears multiple hats. I have had many career changes, a speech pathologist, a domestic manager – i.e. stay-home mum, a tele-sale while I studied a master degree, a mental health researcher, a florist and now the founder of a social enterprise ‘The Community Flower Studio’ (CFS). CFS just turned 4. I think I am qualified to give career advice especially on whether to make a drastic career change. Many of my friends sent their children to Auntie Bibi to do volunteer work for CFS. Currently there are 7 high school kids doing their social services at CFS as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Awards. They know that Auntie Bibi will be more like a friend than an auntie for them. Since May 2023, CFS launched our official Youth Mentoring Program to mentor young people via Zoom or in person. Beside me, there are other members available to be mentors. All the details are available on the CFS Home page.
When I was a researcher at UNSW, I once was an interviewer to select potential medical students. I signed my life to NOT to disclose any details about the interview. Yet I was asked to give a young person some tips to prepare for the interview for a medical degree at a different university. It was more than a decade ago, yet societal expectations on young Asians cannot be underestimated. One can pay for a mock interview at a well-known coaching tutoring place. I think the interview format might have changed over the years. However, one important must-have skill the interviewers are looking for is good communication!
When I was a PhD Student at the Black Dog Institute, the former Mood Disorder Unit of UNSW. I was keen to present my research at various national and international conferences. I once introduced myself as someone who has studied an Applied Science and an Applied Arts degree, so I mixed my skills together in my PhD research methodology – a quantitative and qualitative research. It was the inaugural Qualitative Research Conference at University Illinois in 2005. Both logical deductions and thinking outside of the square is important.
In my training as a speech pathologist. It also taught me a lesson in compassion and how to support people with a wide spectrum of ability. All the clinical supervisors I came across during my training could ‘hear’ beyond this young person’s accent and help her develop her potential.
I guess every time I changed careers, I was lucky to ‘run’ into a mentor. Helen Banu, AMO, who is the CEO of StreetWork, took me on her wings. She sat in the CFS committee from day 1. Irene Chung, the CFS Marketing Consultant was like my Voice Coach, she gave me feedback on every FB post and made sure that I put in a CTA (Call to Action). She said, ‘I shall not share your post on my FB unless it is absolutely worth it’’. It took her 18 months to do just that on a post about a flower crown workshop. Haha, I finally graduated! All these mentors have one thing in common. They believe in me. I’m most fortunate to have meet Professor Michael Rose at Yale’s Recovery Centre for Community Health first in 2010 during my Churchill Fellowship. Michael told me that he was very impressed with my presentation at a conference in 2011 at Lyon. He invited me to work on a post-doc study on citizenship with him in 2012. The co-design and co-produce model of the Community Flower Studio is basically an adapted version of Yale’s program. The goal is to support people with lived experience to be a contributing member of society. CFS’ Vision is to ‘Help Young People Learn Life Skills and Find Meaningful Employment’.
While I was studying for a Cert 3 in Floristry in 2014, I approached Anni, the owner of a flower shop in Epping to give me a no-paid work experience position. Two months later, one of her part-time florists wanted to cut working hours, so I was asked to fill some of her shifts. I got paid the minimum wage! Hurray! I got one foot into the industry. Annie was very generous in sharing her trade secrets with me. She won ‘Florist of the Year’, awarded by the Sydney Market 2 years in a row. Before she became a florist, she held a senior management role in Malaysia and has an MBA. You never know what someone’s background is especially a migrant!
This is truly my case when I embarked on my journey as a florist at a high-end flower shop at Northbridge, apparently people living in this suburb paid the highest level of income tax in NSW. I talked to lawyers, accountants, specialists etc. The former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian was once my regular customer, not her boyfriend though. Sometimes, I get asked a few deeper questions other than the weather. I never mentioned that I have a PhD in public mental health. They told me they admired my job arranging flowers all day long. Yet they didn’t see how I set my alarm at 4:45 am to get the freshest blooms for the customers. They also don’t feel the pain of the sharp thorns on the rose’s stem because I already bear the pain when I get rid of them. Ooch! My advice for the young people who would like to embark on a dream job, run a reality check first. We often tend to magnify the rosy side of things. However, there are always 2 sides of a coin. Grab a piece of paper, draw a line in the middle. Jolt down the pros and cons and try to be objective when you are weighing upon each one then adjusts your expectations.
In summary, if you are looking for a mentor, look for someone who believes in you. That person will support you to realise your dream.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/dqL-LzKJdTY?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&start=117&wmode=transparentThis workshop is a typical example of a young CFS member co-facilitate a workshop with Bibi. The workshop was co-designed and co-produced by the team with Bibi as a mentor.
This workshop is a typical example of a young CFS member co-facilitate a workshop with Bibi. Similar workshops were co-designed and co-produced by the team with Bibi as a mentor.