What are the Trailblazer Awards?
The Trailblazer Awards celebrates Year 12 students beyond their ATAR, recognising those who have overcome personal challenges and used their final year of school to positively impact their community.
Our Trailblazers will have the opportunity to network with industry leaders, build their personal brand and profile as a future leader, get exam ready in our 1-day HSC Trials Accelerator, and so much more!
Find out how Harrison navigated Year 12 differently throughout 2022!
Introducing: Harrison Colyer
Category: Social Impact & Change
School: St John Paul College
State: NSW
Career Aspiration: Working in the veterinary field with large animals in particular
Achievements
- Received the ADF Long Tan Leadership award in 2020
- Completed over 325 hours of volunteering/work experience at various organisations
- SRC member from Year 7 to Year 11
- School Captain
What makes Harrison a Trailblazer?
Harrison has been heavily involved in various leadership activities since a young age, being part of his school’s student representative council since Year 7 and now being the school captain!
His leadership endeavours have been highly commended and culminated when he received the ADF Long Tan Youth Leadership Award in 2020. The award, sponsored by the Australian defence force, commends students who demonstrate leadership and teamwork within both the school and the broader local community. It recognises those who display strong values such as doing one’s best and respect for others which are integral to Australian society.
The Long Tan Award was designed to encourage senior students to actively participate in the life of their schools and local communities. Harrison did just this, having a vibrant and full life outside of the classroom.
He sought to pursue work experience to edge closer to his long term goal of getting into a vet science course and chose to partake in a large amount of work experience activities. In 2021, he completed work experience at Pacific Vetcare, Coffs Harbour, HWH Stables, Karangi and various other farms in the Coffs Harbour region.
In total, Harrison has completed over 325 hours of volunteer/work experience and was fortunate enough to be given a job as a kennel hand at Pacific Vetcare, and has completed 58 hours of paid work to date!
Harrison’s extensive volunteer experience at Pacific Vetcare has helped him to develop a variety of skills – in particular, communication skills. Reflecting upon his experiences, Harrison realised that communication is essential in the veterinary workplace, and has significantly helped in transferring his thoughts to others, clarifying questions and dealing with immediate issues amongst staff.
“From my volunteer and paid work at Pacific Vetcare I have developed my communication skills immensely. I’ve come to learn that communication is essential in the veterinary workplace, from communicating with your clients to communicating with your vets/vet nurses.”
Other than being a dedicated volunteer, Harrison also dedicated a large amount of his time to training for running competitions. Among the challenges Harrison faced, time management was his greatest. He found it difficult to incorporate effective study into his schedule which consisted of training, training, working and travelling for competitions during the school term.
At the same time, he found that the cancellations of many of his running competitions made it hard to find motivation to train and study. However, like the Trailblazer he is, Harrison kept going, successfully finishing the year!
Harrison’s enthusiasm and dedication are just two of the characteristics that make him one of our Top 50 Trailblazers for 2022!
The Top 50 Year 12 Trailblazer Awards
The Trailblazer Awards aim to identify and celebrate students who use their final years of school to invest holistically in the skills and experiences that will maximise their own future opportunities and make a contribution to the future of our society.
Our winners for the Year 12 Trailblazer Awards have demonstrated initiative in volunteering for their school or community, have participated in co-curricular activities, and have held leadership positions within their schools.
Learn more about who placed in the Top 50 Year 12 Trailblazers here!
About Art of Smart Education
At Art of Smart Education, we’re an award-winning provider of holistic tutoring and mentoring for students in years K-12. Our mission is to help students answer the difficult question, “What am I going to do with my life when I finish school, and how do I get there?”
We understand that true success involves mastering study, career and leadership skills while maintaining your wellbeing, not just excelling in academics and as a result, over the last decade, we’ve supported over 10,000 students to achieve their best and maximise their options for life after school.
Each year over one million young Australians, parents, and teachers access our guides, videos and resources to navigate the journey through high school.
