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 Angelina navigated Year 12 differently throughout 2022!
Introducing: Angelina Mahfouz
Category: Business & Entrepreneurship
School: St Ursula’s College Kingsgrove
State: NSW
Career Aspiration: To travel and work for NGOs around the world
Achievements
- Being awarded employee of the week three times as a McDonald’s employee
- Being dance captain for her school dance group
- Working three jobs at the age of 16
What makes Angelina a Trailblazer?
Angelina works hard to achieve success in her job, being awarded the employee of the week 3 times at her McDonald’s store! Working as a crew member is a difficult task, as Angelina has to manage stressful shifts where she is in charge of operating drive thru services, including taking orders, handling payment and delivering food in a prompt and friendly manner. This is not the only task that Angelina has to work at McDonalds, as she also has to work in the back area to prepare raw food materials and cook over 30 world-famous menu items during the dinner rush. This rush lasts over two hours, and can be non-stop and exhausting.
Additionally, Angelina also has to maintain clean dining areas, restrooms and work stations by routinely sweeping, mopping and replenishing supplies. This ensures that the restaurant is presentable to customers. This dedication to her work has made Angelina a trusted member of the staff, and she is now training to become a Crew Trainer!
In addition to her work at McDonald’s, Angelina is the dance captain for her school dance group. She has been dancing for over 13 years, which reflects her commitment to the sport. At the age of 16, Angelina was working three jobs as a primary school tutor, a target employee and a McDonalds employee, demonstrating her hard-working attitude.
Through her work in customer service, Angelina has developed resilience and problem solving skills, as she has had to navigate stressful experiences in the food service industry that can often be overwhelming. Due to the fast paced working environment of a fast-food restaurant, Angelina has had to work to develop her initiative, as she must ensure that she promptly responds and resolves issues relating to customers or issues with store equipment/systems so that the store can continue to operate efficiently. She has also developed substantial social and communication skills through this work, as Angelina has had to work positively with colleagues to maintain smooth operations and high standards of customer service.
Despite Angelina’s various successes, there are still many challenges that arise with completing year 12. Angelina has had to navigate managing year 12 while suffering from anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, which can make exams and time management difficult by causing Angelina to become overwhelmed. However, we are sure that with Angelina’s various skills in problem solving and resilience, she will find a way to overcome these challenges!
“I am really interested in travelling and working for NGO’s around the world.”
Angelina’s passion for travel will certainly help her in her future, as she intends to work for various non-governmental organisations, which can often be a job filled with work-based travel.
With her hardworking attitude and resilience, we are proud to call Angelina one of our Top 50 Trailblazers!
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.
