Ella Lamont’s graduation this month represents a first for both her and Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. When she crosses the stage of the Michael Fowler Centre, the 23-year-old will be the very first graduate conferred with a Bachelor of Global studies.
Launched in 2023, The Bachelor of Global Studies is a three-year cross-disciplinary qualification allowing students to focus on a wide variety of social issues, while learning about Aotearoa New Zealand’s place in the global context.
Ella says the focus on social issues built on her earlier interests in faiths of different countries as well as gender studies, which saw her graduate with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in religious studies, with a minor in gender studies.
She was able to cross credit some of that work toward her new degree.
“Global studies interested me as an intersection of what I was studying with those two subjects.”
“It might be a cliché, but I simply want to help uplift the people and communities around me. Creating more equitable outcomes and consequently a fairer world shouldn’t be a utopian ideal,” she says.
Ella says that she loved hearing global perspectives from political leaders like Helen Clark, reflecting on her time as director of the United Nations Development Programme and James Shaw, speaking on climate change, as well as World Bank senior leaders, and legal scholars.
The finishing touches to Ella’s degree were added with a “mini-thesis”, she completed as her Global Studies capstone project, analysing a student services-led anti-violence project.
“Its purpose is to identify the current scholarship around violence and harm prevention in tertiary contexts across a range of disciplines globally, and where the current programme at Te Herenga Waka sits in relation,” she says.
Most tertiary organisations employ various policies and procedures to combat harm and violence on campus. Te Herenga Waka looks to go a step further, by extending its orientation workshop about expected behaviour and preventative measures. to students in its Halls of Residence. Whether this was being effectively achieved formed the core focus of Ella’s research project.
The hall of residence workshop, which includes roleplay scenarios for bystander intervention, is delivered at the start of the academic year by Tauria, the University’s Student Interest and Conflict Resolution Team.
“The bystander intervention model used by Tauria is best practice, and I think it should be applied as part of a wider toolkit for the tertiary sector globally to reduce and prevent harm,” says Ella.
In her research paper, Ella also identified some low-cost measures to effectively reduce risk in halls.
“I suggested a range of intervention measure including creating more space for people in halls to socialise in outside of bedrooms, and putting posters in the very place victimisation can happen as a way of calling out such behaviour.”
The installation of mirrors in passageways at the halls could also serve as a form as “passive surveillance” against aggressive acts, she says.
“This is a measure often used in architecture to make dark alleyways safer. In a hall of residence where there aren’t many windows running along hallways, mirrors can create a similar effect.”
In 2021, Ella’s work to combat harm was integral to a sexual violence prevention and safety strategy, which saw more than $7 million allocated over three years to Wellington city council’s draft annual plan.
Four years on, and with funding allocated for many of the initiatives, Ella is heartened by the results already gained by her activist approach. Long-term, she would like to explore potential careers as a policy-maker for communities with public service departments like Education or Justice.
Ella is already enjoying some advocacy experience at Focus Aotearoa, a training organisation which works with employers to further improve and develop the literacy, numeracy, financial, and conflict management skills of their staff.
Originally from Christchurch, Ella moved to Wellington to study at Victoria five years ago, entranced by the city’s beauty, inclusivity and vibrant energy.
It’s something Ella tried to contribute to in her own time too, writing, recording and playing music and publishing poetry online which all contributed to her global view of society.
“Studying at Vic has changed my perspective of what is truly possible and how Aotearoa New Zealand fits into the world.”