Congratulations to our youth award winners

Victorian Youth Week kicked off in style on Friday as people of all ages gathered at Victory Park in Castlemaine to celebrate young people in our community.

Along with an afternoon of fun activities, Council announced winners of its 2019 Mount Alexander Youth Awards. The awards recognise leadership across six separate categories.

Congratulations to:

• Cohen Saunders – Youth Leadership Award in the Community
• Josh Rodgers – Youth Leadership Award in the Workplace
• Ada Levis – Youth Leadership Award in Music and the Arts
• Harriet O’Shea Carre – Youth Leadership Award in the Environment
• Amy Bachmann – Youth Leadership Awards in Sports and Recreation
• Oscar Johnson – Youth Leadership Award in Education.

“Our youth award winners are an incredibly impressive group of young people. It’s fantastic to see their impact on the community and celebrate their achievements,” said Darren Fuzzard, Chief Executive Officer, Mount Alexander Shire Council.

“We have an exceptional group of young leaders within our shire. I congratulate all the award winners and nominees,” he said.

Cohen Saunders won the community award through his significant volunteering roles both within school and the community.

“Once a week for the last 18 months Cohen has volunteered with local farmers Gung Hoe Growers. His dedication is astonishing as he’s up before dawn and rides his bike 45 minutes in the rain, heat, or frost to volunteer before school and get hands-on experience in sustainable farming,” said Mr Fuzzard.

“As winner of the workplace award Newstead teenager Josh Rodgers is impressing many with his innovative approach to business. He built his own solar powered coffee roasterie, and has established his own coffee roasting business,” he said.

“The winner of the Music and the Arts award is Ada Levis, who somehow manages to find time to attend school, host two weekly radio shows, perform in the popular local band Stop That Mammoth, volunteer on a number of committees and study radio broadcasting.

“Harriet O’Shea Carre is our environment award winner for her integral role in the Students Strike for Climate Change campaign. She has encouraged thousands of young people to get involved and stand up for action on climate change.

“Amy Bachmann is winner of the sports and recreation award for her achievement in the equestrian field of dressage. As a member of the Victorian inter-school team for five years, Amy is now one of the team’s leaders and mentors younger riders with training and support.

“Oscar Johnson is the winner of the education award through his passion for helping to develop skills in others. He has led a number of group programs including an anti-vandalism project, an art-related group maths activity and program to build creativity in classmates,” said Mr Fuzzard.

“Thank you to everyone involved in the festival, particularly the judges, presenters and all the volunteers who worked tirelessly on such a positive and energetic event,” said Mr Fuzzard.

The festival featured entertainment by young musicians including Isabella Fortuna, Maya Rose and local band Ethical Decimal, a Young Makers Market and activities such as tie dying.

The popular Youth Awards Festival was organised by members of Council’s Youth Advisory Group and FReeZA Committee (Eight Metre Speaker), Young Makers Market Committee, with help from Council.

The Council event was supported by a Victorian Government Youth Week Grants.

Cohen Saunders - Youth Leadership Award in the Community
Cohen is an inspiring young leader who has made a significant contribution through many volunteering roles in the community and at school. One of Cohen’s roles is with local farmers, Gung Hoe Growers. Cohen has consistently volunteered at the farm once a week for the past 18 months. He gets up in the dark, rides his bike 45 minutes in the rain, hail, heat or frost to volunteer in the early hours before school. Due to his passion for sustainable farming, Cohen has led small groups of his peers to visit the farm and also volunteer. He has also taken on leadership roles within the school, on the Student Representative Council (SRC) and School Council. He has also successfully sought funding and coordinated projects to improve the school grounds.

Josh Rodgers - Youth Leadership Award in the Workplace
Josh is a teenage entrepreneur from Newstead who has shown outstanding personal achievement in the business sector. He has used the skills he learned as a barista and trainee coffee roaster to start his own coffee roasting business. He uses a 100% solar powered coffee roasterie that he built himself on his family’s property. He is committed to innovative business techniques and to supporting small farmers.

Ada Levis - Youth Leadership Award in Music and the Arts
Ada is a talented musician and young leader in the local music community. She is passionate about music and radio and volunteers a lot of her time to support the industry and to increase her skills. She has two weekly radio shows, which she presents before school. She is the bass player in the all-female band, Stop That Mammoth. Ada also volunteers on a number of committees including the Social Media and Programming Committee at MaineFM, the FReeZa Committee at Council, and the SRC at her school. On her weekends she is studying a qualification in radio broadcasting.

Harriet O’Shea Carre - Youth Leadership Award in the Environment
Harriet is a dedicated environmental activist. She is an integral member of the Students Strike for Climate Change campaign. She has helped coordinate strikes and led other young people to participate. Harriet was part of a delegation of young people who met with Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten in Canberra to discuss what the federal government can do to protect Australia and the global environment. She has helped to draw significant public attention to the issue of climate change, appearing in the TV, radio and print media. She has also attended climate training in Melbourne.

Amy Bachmann - Youth Leadership Awards in Sports and Recreation
Amy is a passionate equestrian excelling in her chosen field of dressage. Amy has been on the Victorian inter-school team for five years. She is now one of the leaders of the team, helping the younger riders with their training and supporting them at competitions. Her leadership role in the team also involves providing encouragement and motivational support to the younger competitors.

Oscar Johnson - Youth Leadership Award in Education
Oscar has shown significant leadership in helping to develop skills in others. He successfully applied for funding to lead an anti-vandalism project at his school. This involved teaching other students how to use spray paint to create artwork and murals. He also worked with Groovin the Moo Musical Festival to lead an art project with his class, sharing his skills with other students to create cushions for the festival. Despite having left school at the end of last year, Oscar has come back this year to work with students on a mural design, incorporating elements of measurement and scale as part of maths classes.

Image: Cohen Saunders and Ada Levis at the awards festival.

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