Leeann Nguyen said she is a proud Aboriginal and Vietnamese woman, who has always worked hard to play her part helping First Nations people.
Currently, her outlet for that work is through managing the Killara Cafe in Mt Atkinson.
Killara Cafe is an Indigenous social enterprise that has been delivered through a partnership between The Killara Foundation, the Edmund Rice Foundation and Stockland Mt Atkinson.
The cafe is run by the community and provides opportunities for employment, on-the-job training, and education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Ms Nguyen said part of her role is empowering staff.
“It’s our way of giving these people, who have lots of potential, a leg up they might not have had.,” she said.
“We started off a bit quiet, but now every day is busy at the cafe. I am loving training my staff, we’re building a great environment…”
On top of helping others, Ms Nguyen said she gets great personal satisfaction from her role.
“I am passionate about customer service, and how it can uplift both the customer and the server,” she said.
“It’s also a personal mission of mine to always be learning and growing in order to be the best version of myself. It has been hard work getting to where I am, but I have always enjoyed that.
“I decided early on that I would not let my learning disability hold me back, and I have taught myself I am so much more than that. I hope other people with learning disabilities can realise the same thing for themselves.”
Ms Nguyen said she’s excited for the future of the cafe and the prospect of welcoming more customers and training more Indigenous community.
