Texas school captain helps shape Australia's Olympic future in national forum
A rural Queensland school leader has defied 40-to-1 odds to influence Australia's 2032 Olympic planning alongside the nation's brightest young minds.
A young leader from the Queensland-NSW border was among a small number of high school students to present ideas to help shape the nation’s Olympic future.
The Australian Olympic Change-Maker program selected only 25 students from the 1000 nominated, and among those was Texas P-10 State School school captain Brock Dawson.
Held in Canberra on November 25, Brock and his group of change-makers had only a matter of hours to formulate their ideas to present to a panel of influential members of both the Australian government and Olympic movement.
The change-makers were tasked with exploring how sport can be a powerful tool for leadership, personal growth, inclusion, wellbeing and social impact.
The group decided to culminate their ideas into storytelling, setting the scene ten years after the 2032 Olympics in a world where all communities have a role to play in Olympic events.
“Our idea was for people in all areas of Australia to able to contribute and volunteer at the Olympics through scholarships and also for people to contribute without being at the actual games, through art and storytelling,” he said.
The nerves of presenting in parliament soon wore off, with the young leader now looking to a future where he can continue to contribute ideas and influence national decision makers.
“When I first got accepted into the program I didn’t know what to expect, but once we got there and met everyone, it was just a once in a lifetime experience,” he said.
“The people you meet and the opportunities you get, the stories you hear and all the feedback. it’s something that you don’t get the opportunity to do every day.”
Brock said he encourages any other young leaders thinking about nominating themselves for next year’s program to “jump at the opportunity”.
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Originally published as Texas school captain helps shape Australia's Olympic future in national forum
