As I have been completing my masters for quite a number of years, it has been difficult to keep up the motivation to complete it. In my current job role, what I am learning and have learnt is all relevant, however due to the demands of my role, it has been very difficult to be able to devote time to completing my IDRP.
In order to keep up the motivation, I have chosen to complete my IDRP with an organization I volunteer for and work with a group of people I am passionate about. I feel this is the best way for me to devote the time I need to in order to complete my masters and it also ensures I produced something that is of high quality. This however also brings with it the stress of not wanting to let the organization I volunteer with down.
I feel that had I not chosen something that I am passionate about, have some lived experience in, the piece of work I produced would have felt as if I was just ticking a box. Personally I would not be happy or satisfied with this. I am also keen to use this experience to test out if I want to work within in the LGBTIQ field in the future. Until recently it has not been something that I have seriously considered, however given the recent history within the Australian context of the SSM debate, I feel that it is something I am interested in increasingly.
The method of online collaboration is also a new area of work for me. Working in this way will push my boundaries and open me up to new and inventive ways of working. I do have some concerns about this, and am equally concerned that my contact from the agency I volunteer with, is the only person who will have face-to-face meeting with the online community that I will be working with. I am very conscience that the online community is Filipino, predominantly women and my contact is a white Anglo male. The power dynamics are not lost on me and I have had to think about how I will address these concerns and challenges and work through them.
Andi's IDRP blog 