2007 Monthly VCE Achiever Winner

October: Katherine Paterson

With examinations just around the corner, most VCE students would be reluctant to take on extracurricular activities, but not Katherine Paterson – the VCE Achiever for October. On the contrary, she likes to take on extra challenges. ‘It’s a fun and relaxing thing to do. At this time of year it is a good outlet for me’, Katherine explains.

Katherine is aware of the need to strike a good balance between community work and study. ‘My parents have always been supportive of me and made me realise that it is not only about school.’ Indeed all her extracurricular activities are focused on improving her school and community. In the last few years she been recognised and highly respected for her work in the community – the Alpine Shire region – and within her school – Bright P–12 College.

She was chosen as Youth Council Mayor for the Alpine Shire. In this role Katherine has been able to demonstrate her leadership skills and represent the interests of the youth in her community. She chairs the monthly Youth Council meetings, where they share ideas and work together to make improvements. For instance, they have helped organised better bus links for the youth in the surrounding towns and staged drug and alcohol free events. They established the Alpine Shire Youth Awards to recognise academic and sporting achievements of young people in the area. Katherine spoke at assemblies to encourage teachers, parents and other students to nominate young achievers in the community. She also approached local shops for sponsorship of the awards.

At school Katherine has demonstrated her leadership skills as School Vice-captain, a member of the Student Representative Council and Snow Sports Race Team Captain. She has also been actively involved in mentoring juniors in programs like the‘Gorgeous Girls’ which brought Years 7 and 12 girls together to share experiences and expectations of life in high school and to discuss issues such as self-esteem, body image and bullying.

Katherine is a person who is passionate about public speaking, which is something that comes quite naturally to her. ‘I love public speaking – I don’t know how it came about. I just enjoy doing it and other people in the community recognised these qualities and started asking me to speak at events as well.’

Last year Katherine attended the USB Young Women’s Leadership Academy at Sydney University. Here Katherine was able to meet other like-minded young women from around Australia. She remembers it fondly and found the experience enlightening. ‘It was an honour to be recognised for our potential and it was a good way to improve our leadership skills. I got to meet similar people to me, people who love leadership and who are community-focused. I also met a lot of inspirational women in politics and the media.’

In November last year Katherine went on a threemonth study scholarship to Japan. She found the experience challenging to begin with. ‘I didn’t know anyone, but I learnt so much about Japanese culture and am so proud of myself for doing it. I grew a lot as a person from this experience.’

This experience has been life changing for Katherine and she is determined to continue to study Japanese next year and she would like to go back there on exchange at university level. Katherine hopes to get into the University of Melbourne, and as a recipient of a Kwong Lee Dow scholarship, she is looking to complete a general Science or Arts degree and then go on to a post-graduate degree.

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		2007 Monthly VCE Achiever Winner October: Katherine Paterson With examinations just around the corner, most VCE students would be reluctant to take on extracurricular activities, but not Katherine Paterson – the VCE Achiever for October. On the contrary, she likes to take on extra challenges. ‘It’s a fun and relaxing thing to do. At this time of year it is a good outlet for me’, Katherine explains. Katherine is aware of the need to strike a good balance between community work and study. ‘My parents have always been supportive of me and made me realise that it is not only about school.’ Indeed all her extracurricular activities are focused on improving her school and community. In the last few years she been recognised and highly respected for her work in the community – the Alpine Shire region – and within her school – Bright P–12 College. She was chosen as Youth Council Mayor for the Alpine Shire. In this role Katherine has been able to demonstrate her leadership skills and represent the interests of the youth in her community. She chairs the monthly Youth Council meetings, where they share ideas and work together to make improvements. For instance, they have helped organised better bus links for the youth in the surrounding towns and staged drug and alcohol free events. They established the Alpine Shire Youth Awards to recognise academic and sporting achievements of young people in the area. Katherine spoke at assemblies to encourage teachers, parents and other students to nominate young achievers in the community. She also approached local shops for sponsorship of the awards. At school Katherine has demonstrated her leadership skills as School Vice-captain, a member of the Student Representative Council and Snow Sports Race Team Captain. She has also been actively involved in mentoring juniors in programs like the‘Gorgeous Girls’ which brought Years 7 and 12 girls together to share experiences and expectations of life in high school and to discuss issues such as self-esteem, body image and bullying. Katherine is a person who is passionate about public speaking, which is something that comes quite naturally to her. ‘I love public speaking – I don’t know how it came about. I just enjoy doing it and other people in the community recognised these qualities and started asking me to speak at events as well.’ Last year Katherine attended the USB Young Women’s Leadership Academy at Sydney University. Here Katherine was able to meet other like-minded young women from around Australia. She remembers it fondly and found the experience enlightening. ‘It was an honour to be recognised for our potential and it was a good way to improve our leadership skills. I got to meet similar people to me, people who love leadership and who are community-focused. I also met a lot of inspirational women in politics and the media.’ In November last year Katherine went on a threemonth study scholarship to Japan. She found the experience challenging to begin with. ‘I didn’t know anyone, but I learnt so much about Japanese culture and am so proud of myself for doing it. I grew a lot as a person from this experience.’ This experience has been life changing for Katherine and she is determined to continue to study Japanese next year and she would like to go back there on exchange at university level. Katherine hopes to get into the University of Melbourne, and as a recipient of a Kwong Lee Dow scholarship, she is looking to complete a general Science or Arts degree and then go on to a post-graduate degree.
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