Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I was very pleased recently to attend a graduation ceremony for the Smith Family's Learning for Life program which celebrates the recent achievements of many students in finishing high school or further education. The Learning for Life program is run by the Smith Family to help and support disadvantaged young people from preschool to tertiary studies. The program provides financial assistance to help meet the costs of educational items and links students to a range of learning support, in particular to student mentors who provide individual help for students. The Smith Family held a graduation ceremony, and I was pleased to see the many proud faces on the young men and women who were encouraged by the Smith Family to meet their educational goals.

The students I would like to congratulate for finishing year 12 include Benjamin Baden, Ashleigh Bosman, Stacey Bousefield, Anthony Coad, Sarah Danckops, Shaun Dart, Shari Delaine, Samuel Doman, James Edward-Sayers, Aaron Farrow, Caitlin Fegan, Omer Gaco, Kate Harris, Shanice Isherwood, Carmel Johnson, Cameron Laffin, Rebecca Lemonis, Jesse McArd, Kiara McCall, Stephani Mihajlowitsch, James Mikowski, Samantha Murphy, Kaitlin Murphy, Jasmine Pinnell, Jessica Purcell, Moamin Saaid, Tamara Schulmeister, David Sleep, Tegan Szumlinski, Hannah Thackrah-Lambert, Sarah Topp, Sarah Webster, Tallis Wheeler, Amanda Peters and Mark White. Many of these students have very exciting plans to go on with further study, undertake apprenticeships and go to TAFE or university.

As I mentioned, the Learning for Life program also supports and mentors students in higher education and TAFE, and I would like to offer congratulations to Srna Banovic, Ramiza Gaco, Amila Hibeljic, Ana Nevjestic, Emily Salvatore, Emma Unger, Robert Palmer and Marcus Roberts. These students have successfully completed tertiary education and some have aspirations to contribute back by becoming a mentor for the Smith Family.

Education is a very important passport for the rest of your life. The Smith Family is doing a wonderful job to ensure that young people who may come from disadvantaged or lower socioeconomic areas or have difficulties in their lives have the same opportunities to gain an education and ensure that they get the same life opportunities as many of their peers. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all those that were successful in graduating. I wish them the best of luck for their studies in the future but I would also like to thank the Smith Family and all the people who donate to them and help make these realisations possible for these young people.

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