Dandenong, Springvale, Noble Park 2020 school captains share hopes, dreams for future
They’re often thought of as selfie-taking showoffs — but our next crop of leaders are anything but. We asked Melbourne Year 12 school captains what difference they can make to the world. Here’s what those from Frankston, Dandenong, Cranbourne and surrounds said.
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Change is inevitable — but what kind of world do our next generation of young leaders want to live in, and how will they play a role in making it happen?
In our second annual special report on Tomorrow’s Leaders, we asked school captains across the length and breadth of metropolitan Melbourne: “What action will you take to make a difference in your community?”
Captains of 216 schools responded, and the thought provoking and inspiring words of those from our local schools are published here.
A representative group of 26 of these young leaders, featured on the front cover of every local special print edition, gathered with us at State Parliament recently to extrapolate on their thoughts, and meet Premier Dan Andrews, who took the time to offer them some encouraging words to forge their own path as they prepare to take on the world.
One of the most inspiring observations from this gathering was how easily these confident young people networked with each other, despite never having met.
It reminds us great leaders are also great communicators.
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MARANATHA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL — CASEY SENIOR CAMPUS, ENDEAVOUR HILLS
Nathan Harper, 18 and Kimberly Chicas, 17
Over the past two years, I have developed a deeper interest and understanding regarding the increasing dilemma of the mental health of young people and the shocking statistics partnered with it. This year, with this incredible opportunity to make a difference in my school and the wider community, I hope to positively influence the mental wellbeing of those around me. In partnership with the other student leaders and my teachers, I intend creating a program that allows for students to seek help comfortably. I hope that this program encourages the wellbeing of students and further empowers them to make a difference within their community.
— Nathan Harper
I want to encourage the growth in community spirit across our three sites.
I am planning, with the student leadership team, to run more whole school events, where students from all three sites will get to rub shoulders with each other and build stronger friendships.
These events will also build teamwork and team spirit within our four Houses and will lead to camaraderie at our sport and other carnivals.
I see student involvement as key to creating new and improved programs, so I intend asking the student body to submit ideas.
— Kimberly Chicas
GLENEAGLES SECONDARY COLLEGE, ENDEAVOUR HILLS
Josh Davis, 17 and Jess Fitzgerald, 17
If it weren’t for the unique and invaluable public education system we have in Australia, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to write these words. But with more students in Victorian government schools than ever before, the public education system needs continued funding and support from state and federal governments to ensure that the next generation of young Australians have the same opportunities I have. That’s why, in my community, I’m championing free, accessible public education, and I encourage everyone in our community, regardless of background or alumni, to do the same.
— Josh Davis
As Gleneagles Secondary College’s school captain, a leader and a young person I value the idea of “giving back” and demonstrating gratitude. Through fundraising, spreading awareness and beginning difficult conversations about ourselves, we will understand the world and the struggles that surround us and therefore make a collective difference in our community. We must learn, become passionate and work tirelessly to improve and communicate issues we feel matter. As a student leader I will action strategies to appreciate our fortunate circumstances and aim to uplift those of others. As students we are blessed with opportunity, which we must use powerfully.
— Jess Fitzgerald
HALLAM SENIOR COLLEGE
Chloe Babet, 17 and Harrison Rogers, 17
It is estimated that 7.8 billion people live around the globe with an abundance of political and social issues arising. In this day and age it can be easy to lose sight of what’s important, when we are consumed by the aspects of our everyday lives.
Individuals with a low socio economic status, who lack access to healthcare, food security and an education, should be the people whom we aim to support and assist.
Asking individuals in a community whether they would like to see change will raise many hands, however taking that step further to become the change is an act of faith and conviction.
To put this into action, it takes leaders who have the courage and bravery to stand up for what they believe in. Leaders need to respect the values of those around them and take the time to listen to everybody’s opinions.
They need to be willing to take risks in order to gain the trust of their peers and create more leaders within their own communities.
It takes resilience and determination to continuously move forward and work towards achieving a common goal. Relationships and rapport need to be built with peers so a community is able to come together and work as one.
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CARRUM DOWNS SECONDARY COLLEGE
Shantelle Kumar, 17 and Alexander Dart, 17
Our local community is essential to us by not only supporting our school, but also to supporting one another.
As members of the community and leaders within our school, we are invested in creating stronger connections between the college and the wider community.
We aim to improve our communication with the community about what our college is doing and to help celebrate what others are completing and achieving.
This will be achieved through the presence that we have on social media that extends far beyond the college itself.
We are going to have our students volunteer and engage with local community organisations to make a positive impact on the outcomes of our wider community.
We also want to promote and provide the community access to our school through some of our fantastic spaces such as our student-run CAFE 263 and our redeveloped gym.
Within the college we are fully dedicated to creating engaging learning spaces and experiences for our students, and we want to continue to develop positive teacher-student relationships and student-student relationship within the college.
MOUNT HIRA COLLEGE, KEYSBOROUGH
Tahaullah Ibrahimi, 17 and Amena Ghazi, 17
As young Australian Muslims representing Mt Hira College, it is our goal to be role models and positive change agents within our community.
As college captains we are humbled to be granted the opportunity to help those in need. We encourage and support community members to pursue volunteering initiatives such as visiting the elderly in aged care and supplying food and resources to the homeless and refugees.
We aspire to represent the kind and compassionate nature of Islam, reflecting our views and values, we seek to assist and support the underprivileged, desiring to help them overcome the injustices faced and wherever possible give a helping hand.
Together we intend to reach out to other young Muslims as we acknowledge, by uniting and working together we are better equipped to support all who are in need. In doing so we express our utmost gratitude and appreciation towards our local community, as we feel they have enabled us to develop as individuals and provided us with an abundance of opportunities.
CARWATHA COLLEGE P-12, NOBLE PARK NORTH
Angela Fourie, 17, Naduwa Baika, 17 and Hannah Whitaker, 17
If money wasn’t an object, we would decide to provide environmentally-friendly houses for the homeless and the less fortunate in third-world countries.
Our reasoning behind this would be to ensure people are not disadvantaged in life or have extra stress preventing them from carrying out daily tasks.
We would also build schools in underdeveloped countries for children and teenagers to expand their knowledge and to help them to achieve their future career goals. Providing schools would also support children by giving them opportunities and creating a community, especially in unsafe countries.
As Nelson Mandela stated, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can change the world” and every person is entitled to this weapon.
Another possible option could be to build more clean water taps in countries that have limited or no access to clean water.
The possibilities are endless if money was no object, but these are just a few of our decisions that we’d make if we had the opportunity.
Hopefully the future will allow for the aspiring generations to do good and improve our world as a whole.
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NAZARETH COLLEGE, NOBLE PARK NORTH
Emma Xerri, 17 and Alyssa Mastromanno, 17
At Nazareth College, we have a St Vincent de Paul College Conference, which has provided students avenues to advocate for and act to improve social justice.
Both of us have had the pleasure of being involved in this group for many years, equipping us with the experiences necessary to build upon the qualities we deem to be admirable in a leader, such as confidence, determination, kindness and inclusivity.
We have also developed a deeper understanding of the poverty and barriers to education that exist within our community on a devastatingly large scale.
In seeking to make a difference within our community, specifically targeting these areas of education and homelessness, we have started up an after-school tutoring program through which we help primary school students with their studies on a weekly basis.
With more than a quarter of people aged between 15 and 74 experiencing low-level literacy skills within the city of Greater Dandenong, we believe that placing emphasis on the appreciation and enjoyment of education at a primary school level is crucial in helping to decrease the prevalence of this issue.
We hope to continue to assist those within our local community through programs such as the tutoring program and all other avenues which are made accessible to us.
NOBLE PARK SECONDARY COLLEGE
Chenda Pidor, 17 and Nickolaos Passidelis, 18
Growing up in a fast-paced and competitive society can often bring stress and discomfort to a student’s mental being.
The expectations placed on young people today are higher than they have ever been. The idea that good grades equal success can become far too overbearing for students. They can lose sight of their own wellbeing.
Stress can be a powerful tool to prompt productivity, allowing students to find the motivation to complete their work.
Too much stress, however, comes with its own harmful side-effects such as anxiety and depression.
Students often struggle to strike a balance between school and the rest of their life, which can often compromise their own physical and mental health.
NPSC offers free medical (psychological or physical) consultation for all students, runs a variety of mindfulness/meditations sessions, runs events to promote physical activity in students, and integrated wellbeing into the school curriculum most notably with our annual R U OK? Day event.
Mental health needs to be openly addressed.
As Year 12 leaders, we want to spread awareness about mental health and these valuable resources to our youth., so they can better manage their own psyche and be happier, healthier, and more productive.
MINARET COLLEGE, SPRINGVALE
Nameera Zafar, 17 and Affan Syed, 17
As school captains for Minaret College 2020, we are blessed to have an opportunity to make an impact on our community.
To us, being a school captain is not just about wearing fancy badges and presenting in assemblies, we aspire to initiate changes that will leave behind a legacy.
Ranging from something as small as being there for our younger ones, to inspiring the youth to challenge the barriers that might come in the way of achieving their dreams.
We have many Muslim leaders whose footsteps we aim to follow.
We aspire to create a community to challenge Islamophobia, and an anti-racist politics to strengthen the identity and role of a discriminated against and stigmatised minority.
We came to a realisation that there is a large population of students that are highly talented, but do not have the ability to bring out that talent due to certain barriers.
We want to create that bridge for students to reach their dreams.
LYNDALE SECONDARY COLLEGE, NORTH DANDENONG
Thuva Mahinthan, 17 and Emily Van, 17
A leader plants a seed that never stops growing.
A leader makes sure to get their hands dirty, get on the field and manifest their time and effort into achieving a collective vision that will leave a lasting legacy.
Even in the absence of a leader, the vision will be translated into reality by the community footsteps that follow.
Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela led by example by speaking up for social justice.
Like these iconic leaders, we aspire to uphold core social values of respect, courage and tolerance.
In our role as school leaders, we plan to implement a range of events that will allow ourselves to work more intimately with our school and wider community.
We believe education is a powerful weapon that empowers future generations to make this world a better place.
A particular area of concern for us is mental health and we feel we can raise awareness through making links with health services in our community and beginning the discussion. We will use social media to ensure our message reaches high and wide.
JOHN PAUL COLLEGE, FRANKSTON
Sarah Simpson , 17 and Jack Henry, 17
We pledge to use the roles of college captains to better the lives for the staff and students at JPC, and the wider community.
We are determined to actively model and encourage a sense of pride and determination throughout our time as leaders, thereby empowering those around us to achieve their aspirations in both their academic and extra-curricular ventures.
We are particularly interested in exploring ways to successfully and positively incorporate the use of social media.
From our online forums for student discussions, to online group conversations, we increase effective communication for our leaders and the student body alike. While we acknowledge the negative impact social media can have when inappropriately managed, our vision is to create effective and positive discussions.
This, hopefully, will empower those in our community who feel they lack a voice.
Finally, we are passionate about tackling the modern issues we face, encouraging meaningful conversations around the world we live in, by respecting and protecting our environment.
We extend our vision to the issue of climate change, encouraging our school and community to promote sustainability as a means of saving our planet.
We are committed to reviewing our recycling program, reducing our water usage, and continuing to build our community garden.
WOODLEIGH SCHOOL, LANGWARRIN SOUTH
Jasmine Evendon, 17 and Cass Tutton, 17
This year, I am helping to organise an International Woman’s Day lunch, and will be supporting the ethical Cambodian clothing company, Dorsu, by putting the profits we raise towards providing training to their leading staff and supervisors in leadership, confidence building and self-management.
This approach of “train the trainer” is important as these concepts carry on for many years, supporting Dorsu’s female staff who desperately want to influence their community in a positive way.
— Jazzy Evenden
While VCE doesn’t provide a surplus of spare time, I advocate for people (young or old) who observe inadequacies in their immediate community to address these issues themselves.
I am part of a team obtaining a five-star Resource Smart School rating for Woodleigh.
This entails the creation of an environmental committee as well as the allocation of time and funding into environmental efforts.
We aim to increase our sustainability with energy, waste, water and biodiversity.
The first step we’ve made has been to implement a new, far more user-friendly, signage waste collection system, aiming to make the landfill, recyclables and paper product bins more accessible and clearly understood by our community.
— Cass Tutton
MOUNT ERIN COLLEGE, FRANKSTON SOUTH
Tom Horswood, 18, Lacey Mansfied, 17, Tijana Kovac, 17 and Olivia Ballard, 17
With our new role as MEC captains for 2020 comes the responsibility of establishing a positive culture within our community.
Mental health is no longer as taboo as it once was, and with this follows an increased level of awareness pertaining to the various non-physical adversities youth endure in their everyday lives. Mental health concerns psychological and social wellbeing, which can drastically alter young people’s morale, ambition, and general outlook.
To combat this concern, an initiative introduced at our college was a therapy dog working alongside our wellbeing team.
Dexter has become an integral member of the college community, combating stressful energy as well as targeting the stigma of attending welfare.
His presence has created a noticeable difference as the fear of getting help is replaced with “It’s cool to hang out with Dexter”.
As leaders, we strive to ensure a safe school environment, to empower students to be accepting of their peers’ individualities.
We are at the forefront of changing the vocabulary around mental health at MEC and would like others to follow our example.
We wish those in government could see the incredible difference Dexter has bought to our community and fund this amazing initiative in all schools across the state of Victoria.
ELISABETH MURDOCH COLLEGE, LANGWARRIN
Caitlin Aedy, 17 and Jake Osborne, 17
In our local community, we believe that a positive environment that focuses on enriching public voice and wellbeing is essential for the community to thrive.
As captains, we have no doubt that the key to maximal productivity within our college is linked to how our peers positively engage with our teachers and programs.
Already, Victoria has been taking this into consideration since 2003 when the VCAL program became available to students who preferred a more hands-on experience rather than the usual pen-and-paper approach.
This was a clear step in the right direction as it allowed people to choose their own path. When given the correct tools, any one individual in a community has the ability to inspire change not just within their area, but possibly on a larger spectrum.
This is what we aim to promote and work towards as college captains.
FRANKSTON HIGH SCHOOL
Mia Davis, 17 and Blake Shaw, 17
Shifting perceptions of young people in our community is the goal we’re working towards this year, changing disengaged youth into active members of our society.
We have so many diverse groups within our local area and would like to see more young people involved in this great work.
Recent occurrences in our community regarding the nationwide bushfires have only made evident the power of unity. In moments of tragedy, people are often more inclined to embrace the importance of working together.
Our student body will be working tirelessly throughout the year to undertake fundraising to support the bushfire appeal to support our fellow Australians.
This concept of youth voice is illustrated through the recent climate change protests. Media reports show that six million students worldwide were involved in this united platform, highlighting the urgency for further action to protect our planet’s future.
Youth’s voices are beginning to be heard.
This can be further encouraged when young people speak with one voice, as well as encouraging young people to have more involvement within community groups, and therefore understand the complexities of our community, Frankston.
The key to growth in the foreseeable future is for young and older to come together to achieve outcomes of mutual benefit.
MCCLELLAND COLLEGE, FRANKSTON
Caitlin Mitchell, 18 and Sarah Garnier, 18
As young adults on the outskirts of adolescence, our influential role in the community is vital in shaping the ways of the future.
Humanity is in a constant state of change and now more than ever, with a great influx of technology becoming very prevalent in our daily lives, we as a school community and as citizens are able to make the difference we want to see tomorrow.
It is evident when connecting with other school leaders in our area that we all share the same issues and even greater, a passion to dissolve them, to aid the helpless and support the helpful. In order to make an effective difference to the community we need to listen to the community, band together as a stronger force of leaders, influencers and people of great vehemence. It is then when action to make a difference becomes viable for the community.
Further, by promoting leadership and proactiveness in the youth ensures a better future. Through continuing to strive to volunteer at our school and surrounding schools in the area to promote and educate students about the impact that they can have on their future and the care that they should put into their choices and actions, making a difference within the community.
HAILEYBURY, KEYSBOROUGH
Francesca Brand, 18 and Seniru Mudannayake, 17
A community is a living organism, always adjusting and, as young leaders we understand that in a world of rapid change, actions not taken jeopardise precluding a toxic future.
By planning and aiming towards goals, our school leadership hopes to have more than just impact within the school boundaries.
Beyond the bubble of school, we need to materially and emotionally help those in our community who need it.
Through the power of education, we must strive for all members of our community to feel accepted regardless of class, gender, sexuality, race or heritage.
More importantly, we need to work relentlessly towards rectifying the systemic injustices that feed these wrongs – the most nefarious of these injustices being the quality-of-life gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.
In pursuit of social justice, our leadership team is strengthening our relationship with the Haileybury Rendall School Darwin and raising funds to provide two East Timorese students the opportunity to study the VCE.
Ultimately, sharing our rich experiences, sharing ourselves with our community and the world, sharing our love, ideas, friendships and dreams through our actions will create a ripple of optimism beyond our communities.
For those not as fortunate as we are, we fight for change. And fight we will.
CORNISH COLLEGE, BANGHOLME
Naomi Kah, 17, Oliver Stevens, 17, Niall Culleton, 17 and Zoe Wild, 17
We each bring different perspectives and goals to this role, but a common theme was wanting to represent the student body. We felt that, as leaders, we could achieve this, and we are excited to be working with the Cornish community.
One of our goals is to have students at the forefront of decision-making at an executive level as well as at a student council level. We feel this is important because these decisions impact our education and future prospects.
Another focus is to broaden the awareness of mental health in young people – a serious issue in our society. We plan to have a day in November dedicated to men’s mental health, raising funds for the Movember organisation.
We also hope to make a positive difference and give back to our community by helping to grow the school in the best way possible. We hope to influence some changes – big or small – that will help make the experiences at our school even better for current and future students.
We are excited to be working towards achieving these and other goals as college captains, with support and guidance from our teachers and peers.
ALKIRA SECONDARY COLLEGE, CRANBOURNE NORTH
Courtney Page, 17, Will Hamilton, 17 and Sethumi Vinhara, 17
Today’s youth are faced with many challenges that present numerous problems. We aim to push towards a school culture that represents positivity and aims to promote stronger mental health within the school grounds.
If we can make school a more inviting place, we hope to take the stress and anxiety out of many teenagers day to day life.
Through implementing programs such as Breakfast Club, we look to tackle issues of school kids not getting a nutritious start to the day, which has been proven to be vital in many ways. By attacking this problem we hope to show kids that we want to help as much as we can, in making their life at school as happy and stress-free as possible.
If we can face one of the biggest issues in society at our schools, that may carry over into the community.
Furthermore, by providing students with a place to interact with others we aim to encourage them to form meaningful relationships with other students across all year levels, with the intention of decreasing mental challenges through peer support.
HERITAGE COLLEGE, OFFICER
Kaeyah Mousaco, 17 and Concy James, 17
As captains of Heritage College, we are delighted to address the members of our wider Heritage College family. ‘Difference’ as defined in the dictionary, is ‘the condition of when a change is made’. Examples of courageous leadership, Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela, both made extensive differences in their communities.
In their footsteps, we can begin within our area of influence, encouraging those within our college community to donate to local charities and assisting them with raising funds.
From there, we can gradually expand these activities into the wider community. However, making small differences will not always be noticed.
Change is made by small steps at a time.
As College Captains, we will not be the only ones making the difference. Together, along with the college community – students, parents and staff, we will lend a helping hand to make a difference. Just like Mandela and Lincoln, we will make the most of own support networks and team to help us accomplish our goals. If we all get involved we can see a positive difference in our community.