Lainey Wilson named 7News Queensland Young Achiever nominee
A shocking schoolyard conversation has inspired a Pioneer Valley secondary school student to prove her peer wrong. Read why she is now up for an award.
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A shocking schoolyard conversation has inspired a Mirani secondary school student to prove her peer wrong.
Lainey Wilson, 17, has experienced racial discrimination throughout her schooling life for her Aboriginal heritage.
She said a school peer told her she had two reasons to not be alive, because of her race and sex.
This statement counterintuitively fuelled her desire to be an even prouder Byellee woman than she already was.
“At first I believed it and then I overcame it,” she said.
“I refused to let this define my ability.”
Ms Wilson has been nominated for the 2022 7 NEWS Young Achievers First Nations Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Achievement award.
She has been a strong advocate for Aboriginal culture in her school community: speaking and participating in various school events.
“We have a touch carnival for Indigenous students, called the NAIDOC touch day and I helped in doing that,” she said.
“I have also participated in Miss NAIDOC Pageant in Mackay and got runner-up for that – that was so fun.
“ I was awarded the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation scholarship for leadership and excellence.”
She said she had always been encouraged to speak about her heritage – her family ingraining the importance of connection to her culture.
“I think being connected to my culture helps me show others that just because you are Indigenous, does not mean you are any littler than anyone else,” she said.
“Culture is the connection I have with my family and we bond through it.”
Ms Wilson hopes to study secondary teaching after she graduates this year.
“ If I can help others learn and be a better version of themselves, then that will make the world a better place,” she said.
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