"I remember thinking, constantly ... It's not the things you have ... it's the people around you"

As a teenager, Monique Power was exposed to the death of a friend’s father and this became an early catalyst for her to realise “Life is Short”. She felt there was a need to do things. In her early 20’s, this took her to Ghana, Africa on volunteer work … Quickly, she realised her passion was not necessarily being on the ground, so to speak, but it was in influencing policy to make change … and using her ability and privilege to leverage. She also discovered that “Passion is well received” by others and used this thought for motivation to pursue a higher education in Political Science and International relations on her return to Australia. But just as the degree was being completed, her life changed with the conception of her first child. She was diagnosed prenatally with a very rare disability. The pregnancy was highly challenging and the medical professionals painted a dire picture for her chances of survival at birth. But Monique relied on her ‘passion’ and used this to influence her intuitive beliefs and decision making to guide her, not only during the pregnancy, but also following her daughter’s birth.