Leadership is an important life skill and this year the annual Emerging Leadership Conference showcased people who have dared to take risks and have succeeded in reaching their goals.
Organiser Darrell Thatcher says the 2016 Emerging Leaders Conference offered Year 12 students from across the city, the opportunity to think about leadership in all its forms. This was through listening to those who have experienced leadership and by taking part in replicas of real- life situations where they have to make leadership decisions. “Students come away from the conference motivated and positive, especially stimulated by listening and sharing ideas about what others schools are doing for their communities,” he says. First up were Justin Jones and James Castrission, known as Cas and Jonesy, whose philosophy is that life is “one big crazy adventure” and everyone should aspire to live life to the full and achieve their best. Crossing the Ice was their unsupported trek from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back. They also became the first people to travel from Australia to New Zealand in a custom-designed kayak. The two-man expedition succeeded where previous
attempts, including the fatal journey of Andrew McAuley, had been unsuccessful. The expedition holds the world record for the longest trans- oceanic expedition in a double kayak by two expeditioners. A significant aspect of this undertaking was the use of the Internet to allow the public to track the kayak’s progress in real time, and message the crew. Photographs and podcasts from the crew were made available just hours after they had been transmitted from the craft. The two Aussie mates were a hard act to follow, but the next three TEDx-style talks – from netballer Maree Bowden, television executive Janine Morrell-Gunn and cricketer Alex Reese – also offered plenty of food for thought. After lunch, participants divided into small groups for a series of workshops, covering themes as diverse as creative urban activism, character traits of great leaders, lessons from Antarctic exploration, becoming flexible and adaptable thinkers and deciding your legacy in life.
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College Issue 31 2016
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