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, learn key career skills in our 3-day Pathfinder Accelerator, and so much more!
Find out how Caroline navigated Year 12 differently throughout 2021!
Introducing: Caroline Holland
Category: Business and Entrepreneurship
School: Tara Anglican School For Girls
Career Aspiration: Commerce/Economics/International business development manager
Achievements
- Runner up for Zonta’s Young Women in Public Affairs Award (2021)
- Environmental Prefect
- Establishment of various environmental initiatives
- Managing anxiety and stress during a very difficult year
What makes Caroline a Trailblazer?
Caroline was awarded runner up for Zonta’s Young Women in Public Affairs Award (2021) for the district of NSW and ACT. This award recognises young women who participate in public and political spheres via leadership roles and commitment to public service.
Caroline’s experiences in prefect positions and extracurriculars such as sporting groups, youth groups and environmental committees made her the perfect candidate for this award. Furthermore, her appreciation for the international community, as shown through her school studies of Japanese culture and 2019 exchange opportunity, aptly demonstrated her interest in global public affairs.
This organisation awards females who are actively striving to empower women in their communities. Caroline definitely fits the brief here, with her involvement in local environmental committees helping to create a platform for females to voice their climate concerns.
This award has helped Caroline grow her self-confidence, giving her a newfound drive to help get fellow students involved in public affairs. This has positively impacted her role as Environmental Prefect, giving her the confidence to pursue larger campaigns and fundraising events within her school. An example of this can be seen in the committee’s establishment of a Meatless Monday’s campaign and Thursday Lunch with Leaders initiative.
Caroline says that this award has really helped her to better understand herself and her future aspirations.
“The award reinforced my own understanding of female issues and international awareness, guiding my post school interests of studying some type of global studies or international relations along with a commerce degree to gain greater understanding of the impact of the global relations on economies and businesses.”
Caroline is involved in a long list of extracurricular activities. Some of these include Chapel band, the tennis team, showcase concerts, handbells, cross country and many more! Through doing all of this, Caroline has refined her teamwork and collaboration skills. She has come to appreciate the importance of being agile and embracing diversity, as well as being resilient when facing setbacks.
During Year 12, Caroline struggled with anxiety. She found it quite difficult having to deal with lockdown, all while enduring assessment blocks, trials and the uncertainty of HSC exams. On top of this, losing her grandparents impacted on her ability to completely focus and stay motivated. It was a particularly tough year for Caroline, however, as her previously mentioned successes show, she demonstrated incredible resilience.
Her work empowering students to talk more openly about environmental issues, recognition by Zonta’s Young Women in Public Affairs Award, extensive extracurricular portfolio and inspiring perseverance throughout Year 12 has awarded Caroline with a place in 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.
