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 James navigated Year 12 differently throughout 2022!
Introducing: James Clarke
Category: Business & Entrepreneurship
School: St Francis de Sales Regional College
State: NSW
Career Aspiration: Develop innovative agricultural solutions for the Australian environment
Achievements
- Developed a stock portfolio and outpaced the market
- Encouraged peers to consider their own future financial security
- Boarding Captain at St Francis de Sales
What makes James a Trailblazer?
James Clarke has already got his future set, preparing an exceptional stock portfolio that he started at the beginning of high school! What’s even more impressive is that he had compiled this by undertaking his own research.
He scoured through hundreds of annual reports to handpick the ones worth investing, even outpacing the market today by a significant amount. That takes sheer dedication and meticulous observations that even most adults wouldn’t have.
Aside from this, James has work responsibilities on his family farm, spending his summer holidays and after school hours tending the fields. He is also the current boarding captain at his high school, St Francis de Sales.
Inspiringly, James doesn’t hold onto the wealth of his knowledge and expertise in personal finance exclusively but openly shares it amongst his peers. Through this, he has encouraged conversations in his year group about developing stock portfolios and financial security.
He not only thinks of his own success, but also helping others succeed themselves, outlining golden tips on the steps they can take to secure their future.
“While the financial gains are mine, the knowledge I share are available for everyone.”
As he laboured and researched deeply into the market, this developed James’ analytical ability to identify the appropriate and most viable stock purchases. As aforementioned, he researched hundreds of annual reports to find the hidden gems that everyone in the investing world had overlooked. He demonstrates how hard work and dedication could lead to the fruition of success.
Though James has already progressed well in the financial world, it’s still not easy being a Year 12 student, and in addition, having the responsibilities on the farm. Extending from school work, he has duties like helping to transport hundreds of syphons used for irrigation in the middle of summer.
This means time management and planning are also areas James has had to grow to properly manage studying for Year 12. However, whether it be in annual reports or out on the farm, James’ ability to persevere is definitely prevalent in all areas.
Aptly, James wishes to work on developing innovative agricultural solutions for the Australian environment, utilising both his analytical research skills as well as his farming and agricultural knowledge.
James not only has an impressive stock portfolio, but he also has an impressive selfless quality to share this knowledge. This is why he deserves to be 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.
