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 Rakshita navigated Year 12 differently throughout 2021!
Introducing: Rakshita Surisetti
Category: Social Impact & Change
School: Strathfield Girls High School
Career Aspiration: Engineering and IT
Achievements
- Zonta Club President for 2 consecutive years
- Young Woman in Public Affairs Award
- Assuming various leadership roles throughout high school
What makes Rakshita a Trailblazer?
Rakshita is a very impressive individual who has made significant contributions to her local community by way of spreading messages of female empowerment. She held the role of president of her school’s Zonta Club, a group which strives to empower women and advocate for their rights through the planning of various initiatives and contributing to wide-scale fundraisers.
Rakshita was highly committed to this club and for her efforts was awarded the Young Woman in Public Affairs Award. Through this process she was given a multitude of opportunities, including attending workshops to network with other incredibly inspirational women, hear their stories, and discuss ways to help empower others.
“It was truly an honour to have received this award as it was something that I genuinely shared a great interest in and held close to my heart.”
Receiving this award has helped Rakshita develop her confidence, giving her a newfound appreciation of trying new things and stepping outside of her comfort zone.
On top of all of this, Rakshita has held various leadership positions, pursued her interest in dance and was involved in her school’s Brain Bee competition.
The main skill that Rakshita learnt throughout her experiences was how to effectively communicate to different audiences. She recognises that age is often a substantial barrier when it comes to holding productive conversations. However, through genuine listening of different perspectives, we can learn from each other and work together to make genuine connections.
Rakshita’s greatest challenge during Year 12 was coping with burnouts. Enduring this feeling throughout the year left her mentally drained and second-guessing her academic abilities. She recognises that it is something she is still working on improving, but she has gotten slightly better at managing her stress and overwhelm. In addition to this, lockdown impacted her ability to stay motivated and on task while trying to complete her HSC year.
“With the lack of face-to-face interaction with my peers and teachers and not having access to libraries, which is where I am most productive, it has been tough to study long hours to prepare myself for the final exams.”
Rakshita hopes to pursue a career in IT or Engineering post-high school. While she wants to work as a software engineer, she also has a keen interest in graphic design and is wanting to learn about both in university. Rakshita also says that she would like to continue working in leadership positions, enhancing her existing abilities and learning new ones.
With such an impressive couple of years of high school, it is no wonder that Rakshita has been selected as 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.
