Meet Shawn – (he/him). PhD Medicine (Public Health) student, self-proclaimed ‘weeb’ and veteran student volunteer. We sat down with Shawn to find out about what motivates him to give back to the community through the UniMentor program.

First things first, what in the world is a weeb Shawn?

“A weeb is someone really interested in the Japanese language and culture, moving to Japan after my PhD is on the table”.

Along with Shawn’s love for all things Japan (did we mention he can speak Japanese fluently?), Shawn really cares about nurturing good mental health.

Shawn is Singaporean and says his personal mental health experience during junior college (high school) fuelled his passion to help improve mental health outcomes for students.

I realised that many people, including some health professionals, had a poor understanding of mental health.

Shawn’s hoping his PhD research with the Telethon Kids Institute’s Youth Mental Health Team will help better understand the mental health needs of international students in Australian universities.

Shawn is a believer in students supporting students and signed up to become a UniMentor shortly after starting his own university journey.

“I struggled with basic things like getting my Pheme password and accessing LMS, so I decided to become a mentor to help others have a pleasant and smooth transition to uni life.”

As one of the program’s longest-serving mentors, Shawn has some advice for new students.

Make the most of university life and grab any opportunities that come your way. There are so many ways to make the most out of your time at university such as work placements, internships, exchange programs, volunteering and more.

Want to get involved? 🙋 Find out about how you can volunteer with UWA.