Benjamin Poveda Alfonso was a very active student leader at CDU. He was the President of CDU Students’ Association (CDUSA) and was the National Secretary of the Council of International Students Australia (CISA). CISA is the national peak student representative organisation for International Students studying at the postgraduate, undergraduate, private college, TAFE, ELICOS and foundation level.
In addition to the above leadership and voluntary service positions, Ben was also a Student Ambassador for StudyNT at the NT Department of Trade, Business and Innovation. Because of Ben’s achievements in building projects that promote inclusion, betterment and welfare of the International Students, Ben was awarded the 2018 StudyNT International Student of the Year Award at the Chief Minister’s NT Export and Industry Awards.
To date, one of Ben’s key highlights and success is the not for profit organisation, Kindness Shake. Ben is the founder of Kindness Shake which is a community-led initiative that provides weekly free meals to individuals who could not afford to buy meals and are in serious financial hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since its launch in early April 2020, Kindness Shake has served over 3,000 meals, engaged with more than 30 organisations and SMEs together with their over 40 volunteers who share meals every Friday. This was captured in newspapers, prints, online, and other platforms on social media that have documented the love, efforts, and success of Kindness Shake.
Ben has been an exemplary international student and demonstrates leadership, passion for community services and a desire to give back to the community.