Students off on a Rotary Adventure

The two Year 11 Emmaus College Students are the only two Queensland representatives to attend the annual Rotary Adventure in Citizenship.

CANBERRA BOUND: Emmaus College students Adelaide Lapere and Georgia Spanner will attend the Rotary Adventure in Citizenship in April. Picture: Jann Houley

GEORGIA Spanner and Adelaide Lapere may not be eligible to vote yet but they're looking forward to having their say in Canberra next month.

The two Year 11 Emmaus College Students are the only two Queensland representatives to attend the annual Rotary Adventure in Citizenship.

Approximately 35 students from around Australia will spend a week in Canberra where they will visit Parliament House, attending the Prime Minister's annual budget speech and the Opposition Leader's response, as well as parliamentary question time.

Emmaus College students Adelaide Lapere and Georgia Spanner will attend the Rotary Adventure in Citizenship in Canberra in May. Picture: Jann Houley

They will meet members of parliament, and visit Canberra institutions such as the War Memorial and the National Library.

The girls studied law together last year at Emmaus College which sparked their interest in parliament and lawmaking.

"We would present our opinions on laws and changing law in front of the class so that everyone grew confident in sharing opinions," Adelaide said.

"We don't have access to change things yet but, through our education and experiences such as this Canberra trip, we will be prepared for when we can vote and can have some influence."

RAIC is a not-for-profit program run by Rotary clubs in partnership with the Parliamentary Education Office.

Georgia Spanner is sponsored by Rotary Club Rockhampton Fitzroy and Adelaide Lapere is sponsored by Rotary Club Rockhampton.

Both students are very active in the school's Interact club volunteering their time for different events happening throughout the school community.

Interact clubs bring together young people aged 12-18 to develop leadership skills while discovering the power of Service Above Self.

The students hold meetings and organise events to make a difference to the school and wider community.

"They work together with regional Rotarians on such projects as care packages for troops, Girls Night In, Colour Run, Breakfast Club and Beach Day Out," said Niamh Tinlin, the college's Head of Spirituality and Community Development.

"We've even had students working with Rotary Fitzroy to make a prosthetic mechanical hands for people in third world countries who haven't had hands for 40 years."

The next big Emmaus-Rotary joint venture is next year's National Youth Science forum which will be open to current Year 11 students.

Originally published as Students off on a Rotary Adventure