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 Danielle navigated Year 12 differently throughout 2021!
Introducing: Danielle Rifahi
Category: Social Impact & Change
School: Birrong Girls High School
Career Aspiration: Forensic Psychology
Achievements
- Raised $2300 in a food drive
- Part of the Global Social Leaders World Catalyst Program
- Student Representative Council
What makes Danielle a Trailblazer?
Giving back to her community in more ways than one, Danielle is dedicated to helping others around her. Raising $2300 for a food drive to support people affected financially by COVID-19 lockdowns, Danielle was the head organiser for this initiative, rallying together 25 students to support the cause. From recruiting members, advertising through social media, door knocking, ordering and distribution, and online fundraising, Danielle played a large role in this initiative. While the initial plan was to put together female hygiene packs and food packs for donation, the pandemic resulted in them donating the money they raised to do so instead!
Being a lead organiser for this initiative, Danielle committed 7 hours each week to work on the fundraiser. Leading 25 contributors to help raise the $2300, the team was able to donate to the Greater Western Sydney Giants Food Drive as part of the GIANT Hand Initiative. This generous donation was enough to produce 1000 food packs for people and communities in need.
Dealing with personal challenges, Danielle has persevered through Year 12 and sought the help and support she needed. Despite this, Danielle continued to provide community service and was also an assistant teacher at a primary school. Working one-on-one with students who needed further support brought a lot of joy to Danielle. With a passion for supporting and encouraging younger students, Danielle also volunteered at her local Martial Arts Centre. Danielle held roles as a receptionist and kickboxing instructor. She assisted in running Kids & Adults Kickboxing Classes alongside designing lesson plans, warm up exercises and providing feedback.
Danielle has further taken part in leadership roles, such as SRC, Sports House Captain, Peer Support Leader, Peer Reading Mentor, Global Social Leaders World Catalyst Program and Debating Team.
Volunteering in her community from a primary school teacher assistant, to administrative and instructor roles at her local Martial Arts Centre, Danielle is passionate about helping individuals learn and grow.
“Being inspired and motivated enough to start up a fundraising group like this is important… I want to be able to continue standing up for the right choice and lead my community to become a more safer and inclusive environment.”
Danielle hopes to work as a Forensic Psychologist as she wants to help individuals heal and grow, by providing empathy and support.
With her determination to support those around her and help others within her community, Danielle has placed in our Top 50 for the 2021 Trailblazer Awards!
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.
