Student Champion category

Ms Hosna Saba is a Biomedical Science student at Griffith University and founder of the Rising Phoenix Association, a student-led initiative supporting inclusive, sustainable community-building. Drawing on her lived experience as a refugee student, Hosna has created welcoming spaces where students from refugee, multicultural and diverse backgrounds can build confidence, connection and practical life skills.

Through her leadership, Hosna has made sustainability more accessible by linking it with belonging, wellbeing, low-cost living, cultural exchange and participation. Her work demonstrates how student-led social sustainability can strengthen community resilience and create a more inclusive campus culture.

Hosna Saba – Griffith University

Impacts & Benefits

  • Engaged more than 300 students in four months, through inclusive, sustainability-focused events and activities.
  • Maintained strong participation, with events consistently attracting 20–40 students.
  • Increased involvement of refugee and multicultural students in campus life and sustainability conversations.
  • Delivered accessible, low or no-cost programs, supporting sustainable living, social connection and practical skills.
  • Strengthened student belonging and wellbeing, supporting confidence, retention and participation.

 

Leadership & Engagement

  • Founded and leads the Rising Phoenix Association, creating a new student platform for inclusion, connection and action.
  • Leads through community-building, co-creating events with students rather than simply delivering activities for them.
  • Builds partnerships across campus, including with the Refugee Background Student Success Program, multicultural groups and student bodies.
  • Uses lived experience to identify barriers, designing initiatives that are culturally inclusive, practical and welcoming.
  • Contributes significant unpaid leadership time, including planning, coordination, mentoring, budgeting and stakeholder engagement.

 

Wider Societal Impact

  • Advances social sustainability, addressing equity, inclusion and community resilience as foundations for lasting change.
  • Builds confidence and networks for underrepresented students, helping them access opportunities and participate more fully.
  • Creates a bridge between diverse student communities, supporting mutual understanding, cultural exchange and belonging.
  • Empowers students to carry sustainability values beyond university, into future workplaces, communities and leadership roles.
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Top 3 learnings

  • "I learned community drives sustainability more effectively than isolated initiatives."
  • "I learned culturally inclusive design increases engagement and long-term behavioural change."
  • "I learned small, consistent actions scale into measurable social and environmental impact."

Supported by

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Category finalists

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Student Champion category

Ms Hosna Saba is a Biomedical Science student at Griffith University and founder of the Rising Phoenix Association, a student-led initiative supporting inclusive, sustainable community-building. Drawing on her lived experience as a refugee student, Hosna has created welcoming spaces where students from refugee, multicultural and diverse backgrounds can build confidence, connection and practical life skills.

Through her leadership, Hosna has made sustainability more accessible by linking it with belonging, wellbeing, low-cost living, cultural exchange and participation. Her work demonstrates how student-led social sustainability can strengthen community resilience and create a more inclusive campus culture.

Hosna Saba – Griffith University

Top 3 learnings

  • "I learned community drives sustainability more effectively than isolated initiatives."
  • "I learned culturally inclusive design increases engagement and long-term behavioural change."
  • "I learned small, consistent actions scale into measurable social and environmental impact."
Hosna Saba – Griffith University

Impacts & Benefits

  • Engaged more than 300 students in four months, through inclusive, sustainability-focused events and activities.
  • Maintained strong participation, with events consistently attracting 20–40 students.
  • Increased involvement of refugee and multicultural students in campus life and sustainability conversations.
  • Delivered accessible, low or no-cost programs, supporting sustainable living, social connection and practical skills.
  • Strengthened student belonging and wellbeing, supporting confidence, retention and participation.

 

Leadership & Engagement

  • Founded and leads the Rising Phoenix Association, creating a new student platform for inclusion, connection and action.
  • Leads through community-building, co-creating events with students rather than simply delivering activities for them.
  • Builds partnerships across campus, including with the Refugee Background Student Success Program, multicultural groups and student bodies.
  • Uses lived experience to identify barriers, designing initiatives that are culturally inclusive, practical and welcoming.
  • Contributes significant unpaid leadership time, including planning, coordination, mentoring, budgeting and stakeholder engagement.

 

Wider Societal Impact

  • Advances social sustainability, addressing equity, inclusion and community resilience as foundations for lasting change.
  • Builds confidence and networks for underrepresented students, helping them access opportunities and participate more fully.
  • Creates a bridge between diverse student communities, supporting mutual understanding, cultural exchange and belonging.
  • Empowers students to carry sustainability values beyond university, into future workplaces, communities and leadership roles.

Supported by

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