Committee Profile – Liz Merritt (November 2017)

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Written by Liz Merritt (Chapter Secretary)

 "It felt really good to be giving back but also to be representing Golden Key".

What did you study at Swinburne? 
Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting & Finance). I studied part time while working full time so it took six years to complete.

What motivates you when you study?
Music! I couldn’t sit in silence and write an essay. It had to be really low volume though otherwise I’d get distracted by the songs and have a karaoke session instead of writing my essay.
I also found having strategic naps helped. If I started getting sleepy from reading textbooks and articles I’d set my alarm for 15 minutes and have a quick cat nap. Once my alarm went off I’d be refreshed and ready to get back into the books.

When did you join Golden Key? 
I joined in 2015 after I’d graduated. I’d received a couple of invitations over the course of the six years of study but never joined. It wasn’t until I spoke to a friend about the invitations she told me that she was a member too, so I joined.

What Golden Key positions have you held?
Secretary (May 2015 – current)
Once I had joined I went along to the AGM to find out who this group was that I just gave $100 to. I got a lot out of my first year on the committee so I came back for another year.

Proudest Golden Key achievement?
I attended the 2017 Golden Key Asia-Pacific Conference in Sydney representing the Swinburne chapter. At the gala dinner I accepted two awards, 2016 Advisor of the Year on behalf of our advisor Glen Bates, and Golden Key Swinburne chapter received recognition for achieving Gold standing in 2016.

 Most memorable Golden Key moment?
One of the three pillars of Golden Key is Service. Last year I really enjoyed packing Christmas presents for children in Cambodia. This was part of our ongoing Service initiative and several of the committee members attended. It felt really good to be giving back but also to be representing Golden Key. As a committee we plan to volunteer for this again this year!

Surprising Golden Key moment?
Meeting Dylan Alcott, OAM after hearing his keynote speech at the 2017 Golden Key Asia-Pacific Conference. I cheered in the crowd watching him win his very first Australian Open quad wheelchair title in 2015. I was amazed then at his talent and it was really great to get to meet him and shake his hand earlier this year.

 Best thing of being a Swinburne Golden Key committee member? 
Initially I enjoyed attending the events we were organising and working together to get things done. With a good committee it felt like these great events we organised weren’t much work at all because everyone pitched in. Recently I’ve become a mum so I enjoy the chance to get out for our monthly meetings and have adult conversations. We also have wine and snacks at our committee meetings, so that’s a bonus too!

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