The biggest week in AIME history

Amongst the mayhem of Branson, Twitter, Mentors 4 Life, and feeling like the AIME plane is about to head to space (magic school bus styles), you'll be happy to know that the program on the ground is going from strength to strength.

In fact, we have just completed the biggest week, working with the largest amount of kids and mentors, in AIME world history.

For a feel-good story sure to put a smile on your dial check out National Program Operations Director, Sam Refshauge’s wrap on the week that was!

Who would have ever thought that after 4 months planning, preparation, pitches and punch-ups (just joking, there weren’t any punch-ups), we would find ourselves in the position to deliver the AIME Program across the country, within 22 university campuses to 41 regions, with 200 schools for around 1600 mentees and 1200 mentors!!

But above all the numbers it’s the stories of success, the connections made, the relationships built and the magic moments shared between AIME staff, mentors and mentees that encourage us all to keep striving to be bigger and better.

So follow me back to the beginning of the week, where I’ll take you on a whirlwind tour of what has just been an amazing 5 days for the AIME record books!

Monday morning started on the Sunshine Coast of QLD where the newest member of our team, Jordan Dwyer, after 2 weeks on the job was about to deliver sessions alongside our CEO, Jack Manning Bancroft. Talk about pressure!

 Sunshine Coast Program Manager Jordan Dwyer, National Presenter Arthur Little and the USC crew hanging with the Kangaroos

Whilst Jordan was doing his last minute vocal warm ups, another new arrival on the scene, Tom Nice, was getting his crew together at Monash University for their 2^nd Outreach day (They’re already half way through the program, geez!).

Smiles all around at Monash University Peninsula campus

As Tom was fine-tuning his rhymes in VIC, the team in NSW were spreading their wings from Shoalhaven to Sydney to kick off the show for the year.

UOW South Coast Program Manager addressing the troops in Shoalhaven

Sydney University Outreach Year 10 players

And with all this happening on Monday, the stage was set for what was about to be a week of absolute intensity. Along with the launch of the program in our newest regions of Ballarat, Perth & Bega, we continued to roll out the red carpet for mentors and mentees on the Gold Coast, Brisbane and the Frankston Peninsula. Did I mention that in the middle of all this we saw the biggest ever AIME session, with 130 Indigenous high school students gracing the grounds of the University of Queensland?

Brisbane Program Manager Billy Marshall, Program Manager Assistant Shae Spierings and the UQ year 11&12 mentors and mentees

So as I fly back across Australia after celebrating the unveiling of AIME West Oz, I think about how far we’ve come in my short 2.5 year journey with AIME. A massive smile creeps upon my face as I realise we are going to achieve unbelievable things in 2013 and beyond!

Curtin Uni Program Manager Lauren Cramb kicking off the West Coast program at Curtin University