Olympic Change Makers
Each year the Australian Olympic committee runs the Australian Olympic Change-Maker program. The program is designed to recognise secondary students from around the country who demonstrate the Olympic spirit – friendship, sportsmanship and striving for excellence – both on and off the playing field, through leadership and driving positive change in their school and local communities. Schools nominate two students from Year 11 and Year 12 who display these qualities.
The Change-Maker program provides students with the opportunity to share their ideas, connect with other like-minded people and be immersed in a unique Olympic experience, hearing first-hand from Olympians. In 2025 MLC School nominated Eve Ireland from Year 11 and Lana McLean from Year 12. In September both girls attended the conference and have written about their experience. The next step is for both girls to submit a one minute video, with the hope of being one of 25 students across the country selected to attend the National conference in Canberra. Good luck girls!
‘This was an amazing conference with many like-minded students and had a chance to hear from many Olympians. The list included Chloe Dalton OAM (Rugby Sevens; Gold at Rio 2016), Michael Klim OAM (Swimming; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004), Noeme Fox (Slalom Canoe; Gold at Paris 2024), Valentino Guseli (Snowboarding; Beijing 2022), Maurice Longbottom (Rugby Sevens; Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024). They spoke about their inspiring stories, from hardships to achievements, imparting meaningful insights and reflections. All of these role models have greatly contributed to Australian sport and wider communities, starting foundations like ‘The Female Athlete Project’ and the ‘Klim Foundation’. These people are truly inspirational for all of their achievements, accomplished by determination, hard work and perseverance.’
– Eve Ireland (Year 11)
Click on gallery to view full images
‘The video application for the Olympic Change-Makers Summit that I have created can only only be a maximum of one minute, I thought I would explain a bit more about why I wanted to make this video.
When I joined MLC School, I noticed a lack of participation in sport, with people telling me that they were scared to have a go or they were worried they wouldn’t get accepted. Some people even told me that because of their ethnicity, they thought they shouldn’t play sport, which made me quite upset to hear as a mixed-raced person myself.
As Athletics Captain last year and Tennis Captain this year, I encouraged everyone to put their 100% effort into their sports, no matter where they were from, and the increased participation and diversity in both teams showed in this year’s competitions. A lot of people have even said to me that they know MLC School to now be a very diverse community in all aspects of the school, which makes me so happy to hear.
In the video, I decided to speak the three languages I know to reflect the importance of languages and cultures and what they mean to me as someone who loves learning about them.
I hope sports captains in the future can continue this spirit and, hopefully as a coach, I will be there to support everyone along the way.’
– Lana McLean (Year 12)
Click here to view Lana’s submission video.