Over the course of 10 weeks and 5 workshops, Kristy, Sozet and myself had the privilege to work together with The Future Leaders program, local schools and local help networks. Together with 15 other participants, we had to identify an issue that is happening in society today. The participants were split into 4 groups and worked with a representative from the present community groups. Dandelion Support Network focused on pregnant women who have escaped domestic violence and don’t have immediate access to essential baby items, whilst Angkor Flowers and Craft and Core Community focused on refugees who are facing issues that hinders their chances of excelling themselves and the last group, Autism Advisory and Support Service focused on little children born with or have developed Autism.

These groups worked with their community group representative to try and come up with a solution to help their group. These ideas were later presented at The Pitch which took place on Thursday 22nd November. The participants utilised  skills they have learned or developed from the program. Each session or workshop that took place every two weeks taught participants on  that are important to a leader. Workshop 1 focused on Personal Leadership and Identity. Workshop 2 focused on Emotional Intelligence, Workshop 3 was about design thinking. Workshop 4 was about Entrepreneurial Skills and Workshop 5 was on Communication Skills.

The Pitch winner was Core Community whose focus was on refugee women. This program has not only helped us learn about ourselves as leaders but also opened our eyes to the issues that is occurring in society; issues that many know about but don’t do anything about it. Through this program we believe that regardless of age, race and gender anyone can make a difference and there is no excuse to treat others less because we don’t know there situation, we don’t know what they have been through and most importantly it is definitely not right.

Theresa Bui, Year 10