Inspiring young people
Students at Warragul District Specialist School celebrated their involvement with several community groups during a special presentation for completion of the Inspiring Young People program.
Inspiring Young People is a program developed and established By Baw Baw Latrobe Local Learning Employment Network as an initiative to increase the aspirations of young people in regional areas.
Andrea EvansMcCall hosted the event and spoke about her role as the national disability coordination Officer for Gippsland. The ice was broken with a game in which each table had to work together to construct the tallest freestanding straw tower.
Over lunch, students had the opportunity to talk to a variety of community members and local business people about their pathways and careers.
Warragul and District Specialist School teachers Sue DeSilva and Phil Ashcroft, together with students Lily Brown, Bailey Watson, Tara Presley, Lara Gair, Sam Panasewycz, and Cody Kisielnicki delivered a presentation on Pathways to Employability – A Celebration of WDSS Senior Students ABILITIES.
Program coordinator Anne Boyer said Warragul District Specialist School students had involved themselves with several volunteer and community groups to encourage community engagement and involvement.
“They’ve been woodworking, farming, dancing and many more,” she said.
The program relies on the support of many community volunteers and links these volunteers with groups of young people to share their experiences of their own journeys.
The objective of the program is simply to “inspire” young people, some of whom may not have clear or positive aspirations for their future, into making informed and supported decisions for their futures.
Since its inception the program has serviced more than 20 locations in Gippsland each year, where more than 500 young people and more than 300 volunteers participate.