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 Joseph navigated Year 12 differently throughout 2021!
Introducing: Joseph Brake
Category: Social Impact & Change
School: Southern Highlands Christian School
Career Aspiration: Medicine
Achievements
- Founder of Finding Your Voice
- Founder of The Forum
What makes Joseph a Trailblazer?
Joseph has always been passionate about enacting change and bettering his community. He was bothered by the general disinterest in social issues displayed by people his age and felt compelled to do something about it. He found the best way to do this was to develop initiatives targeted at encouraging young people to speak out about causes they are passionate about.
The first was an educational activism platform entitled Finding Your Voice, which equips students to respond to global issues, and expand their understanding of the impact they can have in addressing issues such as climate change and homelessness.
The second was a school-wide student leadership program, The Forum, which encouraged students from all grades to be actively involved in shaping school policy and to compassionately respond to the needs of their community. This later event has also been incredibly successful, attracting representatives across every year group, raising thousands of dollars and pushing for community refurbishments such as recycling bins and devoted community spaces.
Founding these initiatives has taught Joseph a considerable amount about the importance of listening.
“I have always loved to speak, and to explore my own values in debate, formal addresses and leading informal meetings, but my goal for The Forum was to have it shaped by the needs and aspirations of the people around me. To do this, I had to learn to breathe out the pride, and consider the wisdom of those around me.”
Joseph acknowledges that while Year 12 is difficult for everyone, he definitely faced his own share of challenges. Having been diagnosed with anxiety at the beginning of the year, he found it difficult to manage this condition alongside his studies and extracurricular commitments.
Joseph dreams of being a politician in the future. He believes that the industry is in need of strong voices who are willing to speak out against injustices and commit to actions that are necessary to create change
Joseph is 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.
