Gympie Teen Nominated for 7NEWS Young Achievers Award

Phoebe Penny is one of our quiet achievers. She’s smart, driven and ready to change lives. Find out why she’s been nominated for the Young Achievers ‘Leadership’ Award.

Phoebe Penny is thriving and achieving. She has been recognised with an important award nomination.

Phoebe Penny has been nominated for the 7News Young Achiever Leadership Award.

The award celebrates young people who show “tenacity, dedication, passion, selflessness and confidence”.

“I feel really grateful to be nominated, to have my name out there and for Gympie too”, the 17-year-old said.

Phoebe moved to Gympie from the Sunshine Coast in 2015.

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Phoebe found her love for leadership in year six when she took on the role of school captain at Two Mile State School.

She has also held the junior school captain and sports vice-captain roles at James Nash State High School.

Phoebe Penny is a high achiever at school and in sport.

Phoebe also excels in rugby and volleyball, in the school band and at the Gympie Eisteddfod.

But the youngster said her biggest achievement was “surviving high school”.

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Around the age of 10, Phoebe was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and autism spectrum disorder.

Socially she struggled, from learning nuance and social etiquette to just trying to find her place in the world

“When I was diagnosed, I felt really happy, since I finally knew why I felt so out of place and different from everyone else,“ she said.

“It made it much easier for my parents to find ways to help me.

It obviously made me quite anxious as I knew not many people really understand autism.”

Phoebe and her loving family

As a kid, Phoebe struggled to make friends so learning became her escape.

In grade seven, she finally found her people.

“There was always someone there for me, who would push me and encourage me to step out of my comfort zone,” she said.

“I felt accepted, as they took time out of their days to research ASD and learn about me.”

Phoebe plans to study medicine at the University of Queensland and has her sights set on a career in paediatrics or neonatology.