Shop talk

They’re known as SOUL’s ‘dynamic duo’, and it’s easy to see why. Shopfront Acting Program Manager Claire Pettigrew and Student Engagement Officer Christopher Brew are the brains and brawn (not necessarily in that order) behind SOULstars - a new Shopfront program that enables student leadership and peer-facilitation.

Pettigrew and Brew first met 10 years ago as undergraduate students in UTS’s Student’s Association. Both were pursuing communication degrees, and their own passions for social justice, in a politically charged higher education environment.

“It was quite an intense period of transformation and growth,” says Pettigrew. “I think we were both initially attracted to UTS for its strong commitment to social justice, and student organising gave us a space to practice some of the ideas we were being exposed to in our degrees and develop theories of social change.”

“Student organising and engagement is dynamic and challenging, it not only exposes you to diverse perspectives and experiences, but allows you to work those perspectives into strategic action for change,” adds Brew.

For Pettigrew, this real-world negotiation of ideas and skills was solidified through her experience working on two Shopfront community coursework projects as part of her degree.

“I was hungry for practical and meaningful learning that took me beyond the classroom and into the community sector – those placements were pivotal in allowing me to develop networks, work opportunities and my own professional identity.”

After graduating, each pursued work experiences that closely aligned with their drive to work in social justice spaces. Brew worked as operations manager for online political advocacy body, Getup!, and as a campaigns coordinator for ACON. Pettigrew took on an environmental education community development role in Auburn and became heavily involved in Camp Out - a collective-run camp for young LGBTIQ people.

In 2013, Pettigrew returned to UTS and Shopfront to spearhead the UTS SOUL Award -  Shopfront’s leadership and volunteer initiative. SOUL was developed to complement Shopfront’s coursework community projects - where students are matched with community organisations to deliver real projects. Later that year, after completing his Master of Research at the London Consortium, and teaching for a number of years in the UTS Communication program, Brew joined the Shopfront team.

For the dynamic duo, it’s a “delight” to work together again, delivering lectures, co-facilitating workshops and launching SOULstars.

“We work incredibly well together,” says Brew. “We often find ourselves getting deep into an ideas-generation and design thinking process on the spur of the moment. We’re both really committed to continuous learning, adaptation and growth, and we thrive off developing those kinds of opportunities with every organisation and student we work with.”

“Our own experiences of being involved in community organisations as well as student engagement provide a unique insight into the dynamics and intricacies of successful university-community collaborations,” says Pettigrew. “You need empathy and commitment to civil society, professionalism, strong communication and clear project paramaters.

“I think we are both proud to be able to support new graduates to leave UTS with community awareness, volunteer experience and some skills to help harness their sense of social purpose, whilst having been able to support the capacity of our community partners in the process. It’s an awesome job.”