Master of Professional Accounting graduate Melvyn Gilbert on the road.
Melvyn came to Perth from Kolkata, India to study postgraduate Accounting at ECU.
And like many international students when they first move to a new country, he found everything unfamiliar, he was financially insecure, and he was feeling a little alone.
Melvyn's Master of Professional Accounting course kept him busy enough, but he got bored. So, to amuse himself he often wandered into Northbridge on a Friday night, a busy part of the city after dark.
Of course, he didn't have much money and was yet to make new friends, so he'd just wander around for a few hours before going home.
The turning point
One night, as Melvyn sat alone in a park, a middle-aged man walked up and asked him if he'd like to share some pizza.
Initially Melvyn politely declined the offer. But then the man started talking about cricket and Bollywood, and before Melvyn knew it, he was having a heart-to-heart conversation with him.
It turned out that the man had been homeless for four years.
The experience added a new perspective to Melvyn's life – one where he was not at the giving end but on the receiving end, sharing food from a homeless man's plate.
Growing up in India, Melvyn was aware of poverty, but he soon realised the situation in Australia was equally dire. "There is no race, no country, no religion – a poor man is a poor man wherever on earth you are and shutting our eyes to such reality is not an option," he believes.
Act, don't talk
Instead of talking about the need for change, Melvyn committed to helping those in need. With the support of his employer, they started Fortuna Foundation – a charity arm that reaches out to help vulnerable members of the community.
His sincerity and devotion to making a meaningful difference has seen him achieve professional success rapidly.
Melvyn is now a Director and Partner of the award-winning Fortuna Advisory Group. Fortuna offers Accounting & Tax, Legal Services, Financial Planning and Mortgage Broking services, aspiring to become a top 100 accounting firm.
Another positive spin
Fortuna Foundation recently launched a mobile laundry van, a charity arm that reaches out to help vulnerable members of the community. Called 'Positive Spin', the aim is to cover the existing welfare gap by offering a free laundry service to those in need.
An estimated 10,000 people in WA experience homelessness every night, with over a thousand sleeping rough.
Melvyn hopes to find like-minded people who can come together and stand as committed volunteers and supporters so that projects such as Positive Spin can achieve success.
We asked Melvyn whether ECU had made an impact on him. His answer was, "It is at the heart of who I am."
His ECU lecturers translated things like debits and credits to show him how they make sense in real life. He says, "I can't believe how much I just love Accounting; it's all about the purpose and ECU set my founding stone."
What it's like to live in Perth and study Professional Accounting (1min 30secs).
