Teen Parliament scholarship winners are on the right path to success in education

Meet the six teens who have won $10,000 scholarships after their bold trip to State Parliament last week.

Teen parliament scholarship winner Jackson Coaby. Picture: Ben Clark

An Indigenous teenager who wants to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather in helping youth to forge a better life is among the $10,000 education scholarship recipients following Teen Parliament.

Salisbury East High School student Jackson Coaby, 15, made an impassioned plea at Teen Parliament last Thursday for more funding, carers and support to keep youth engaged and away from a life of crime.

“All our state needs are some stronger support for our youth and teenagers via funds and stronger supporting carers to get youth off the streets and into better and healthier lifestyles,” he said.

Jackson, of Salisbury East, is inspired by his grandfather Cyril Coaby, who co-founded the Aboriginal Sobriety Group which gives people an outlet to fight addiction.

“He was a great leader in his community, always welcomed people and had a pretty big heart,” Jackson said of Cyril, who died in 2021.

Amber Cameron. Picture: Supplied

Seth Kayser. Picture: Supplied

Jackson, a member of the Tjindu Foundation that works with Indigenous youth to create opportunities, plans to spend his scholarship on his tertiary studies, where he hopes to study sports science.

Fellow students Seth Kayser, Tayah Coulthard-Todd, Kaylee Trenerry, Juliana Lanzilli and Amber Cameron will also receive scholarships after they stood out at the event for their ideas to improve the future of the state.

Head of The Advertiser Foundation Dan Demaria was impressed by the students as they made their speeches.

“I sat in Parliament last Thursday and watched all 29 Teen Parliamentarians present – I’m happy to say our future is in safe hands,” he said.

Tayah Coulthard-Todd. Picture: Supplied

Juliana Lanzilli. Picture: Matt Loxton

Teen Parliament was held in the House of Assembly, under the guidance of Speaker Dan Cregan, where students engaged in spirited debate on the pressing issues in SA.

Juliana, 16, from Concordia College, spoke of the need for financial education in schools.

“Implementing compulsory financial education from reception until Year 12 can help us young people avoid poor financial decisions that take years to overcome,” she said.

Her scholarship was sponsored by HomeStart. HomeStart chief executive Andrew Mills said:

“Our support is part of an ongoing commitment to creating opportunities for young South Australians to shape their own futures through education.”

Tayah, 16, of the Tjindu Foundation, petitioned for equal access to education for Indigenous people.

“I am passionate about aboriginal students having the opportunity and access to education,” she said.

Student Kaylee Trenerry at Teen Parliament. Picture: Russell Millard

Kaylee, 17, from Seaford Secondary College called for more opportunities for girls in sports.

“The South Australian government should be implementing into our schools a more diverse and inclusive range of sporting options for our girls,” she said.

Amber, 16, from Port Broughton Area School, spoke about the need for reform in South Australian education including a more flexible curriculum.

“We must create a system that nurtures individuality and provides multiple early secondary pathways that are relevant to students futures,” she said.

Seth, 16, from Port Lincoln High School, wants a nuclear-powered future for the state and said it would ease cost of living expenses.

“The reason our energy bills are so expensive is that we still rely on fossil fuel energy and don’t have enough renewables to replace,” he said.

Sponsors of this year’s scholarships, presented in partnership with the Advertiser Foundation, are Elders, UniSA, Walker Corp, HomeStart, Thomson Geer Lawyers and the Adelaide Economic Development Agency.