Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to take this opportunity to highlight a fantastic program being run in the electorate of Herbert. It's Catholic Education's Emerging Leaders Incentive Scheme. The Emerging Leaders Incentive Scheme is a scholarship program with a difference. It's available at all 11 Townsville Catholic Education schools and it's to provide scholarships, training and career opportunities for our First Nations students. It's funded under the government's Indigenous Advancement Strategy and is based on evidence based research that focuses on partnerships and collaboration between students, parents and carers, schools and the community. The team at Townsville Catholic Education have been working hard on growing and developing the program, and it was great to meet with them in Townsville recently.

So far, nearly 600 students have successfully taken part, and it has had a significant impact on their lives, in giving them the best start in life. Each student is supported throughout the year with leadership, cultural and wellbeing experiences and opportunities. Students are incentivised to make positive choices during their time at school. To give you an idea of how that plays out, I want to share with you Emma's story.

Emma is a year-10 student who managed to attain a gold incentive level. In giving advice to encourage her peers, she said:

Find something you love doing in the community. Whether that is sport, drama, volunteering or even going to community gatherings like church but it has to be something to do with your community. So no you can't just say video games. I found a great way to do this was through my external interest being drama.

Next is academic success…. But what does that really mean? Some of you may say getting A's all the time, but it doesn't always mean that. For me, success is finding something I can enjoy in a subject. Even in classes like religion or science which neither are my strong set. Being able to put your mind to it and strive to overcome the dislike of that subject and going, "No I don't like this, but I don't hate it either. No, it's not for me but I can see how others like it".

This is what I have used for every subject that I have ever taken and that unwillingness to hate a subject has driven me to find passions that I never thought I would have.

Lastly is engaging with the resources that you all have available to you. The emerging leader's team who try their best to engage you in a variety of different activities, such as the mentoring program of the older students, homework and tutoring clubs after school and shalom reading of a morning all of which I have been involved with over the years.

Emma does a fantastic job, and she is inspiring many people. I want to thank her for her leadership and the Catholic schools on this program in the electorate of Herbert.

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