A new generation and ongoing funding for C4W School Leaders Program

Community leaders, politicians and business people gathered at Charles Sturt University in Wagga on Tuesday to welcome a new generation of future leaders.

The Committee 4 Wagga’s School Leaders Program is in its 8th year and has invested in dozens of high school students to empower them to become successful ambassadors for the city.

Chairman Adam Drummond said it was a flagship initiative for the organisation and a continuation of the previous Emerging Leaders Program that he was once a part of.

“I’m a proud graduate, so I can speak with experience when I say to you school leaders, you are going to go on quite a journey and it’s going to be very fulfilling,” he said.

“There’s a lot of opportunity out there in Australia to be a leader no matter where you’re from.”

MLC Wes Fang was also on hand to reveal that the NSW Government will invest $100,000 through the Regional Growth Fund to support the program into 2025.

“I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to contribute yet again to make sure that this program will continue for the youth in the Riverina region,” he said.

“We know that the program has continually delivered year upon year – challenges aside with COVID and the like – but it’s still continued to deliver.”

Students participating in the program will attend modules on days throughout the year, with each designed to achieve different learning outcomes including leadership, presentation and business.

“I’m very excited to be here after I was kind of pushed into it a little bit,” laughed Year 11 student Jesse Butler from Wagga High.

“When they said they need someone to speak up for Wagga High everyone said, ‘Jesse, come on, you know your role’!

“But I really do love speaking to people and I love being around people with the same attitude as me and I’m meeting some really incredibly impressive leaders so it’s just kind of surreal so far.”

Isaac Bloor and Josh Sarantakos from the Riverina Anglican College are looking forward to a new challenge.

“Some of the previous year’s students said it was a fantastic thing to do so I applied,” explained Isaac.

“I’m hoping to learn more about myself so that I can then give back to the community and really just help other people in Wagga and in the region.”

Josh also learned about the program through recent graduates and said he was proud to represent his home city.

“I’ve always lived in Wagga and it’s got a good community feel. It’s close-knit,” he said.

Wagga High’s Tisha Bahri is already a student leader and a part of the State Government’s Department of Student Voices in Education and Schools (DOVES) program.

“I’ve always really been interested in leadership and I heard from last year’s students that it is good to enhance your leadership skills, so I thought, why not give it a go?” she said.

“It’s really inspiring to meet people here today and to hear their story and see how they got to where they are right now with their hard work and dedication to what they do.”