School councillor Michael Arrantash (16) is a finalist for the 2014 Hasluck Leadership Award for his leadership at school and in the community.
He is one of 11 Perth Hills students in contention for the award, but just two will fly to Canberra to tour Parliament House and meet Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
The Year 11 student, who plans to study law at university, said it would be a great opportunity to meet with the country’s leader.
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READ NOW‘I went to Canberra in Year 7 and I would love to go back,’ he said.
‘I am a bit nervous about the outcome of the award, but if it works out for me, I think it would be a good experience.’
Michael said he had been active in the community since joining the Cubs.
‘I went in to Scouts, but I am now in the Venturers because it is the next age level up from Scouts,’ he said.
‘We help out a lot in the community ” we recently spent a weekend in Kojonup to help rebuild a fence after it was knocked down in a storm.’
The award winners will travel to Canberra from August 31 to September 4 with Hasluck MHR Ken Wyatt.
Nominees were required to present a five-minute prepared speech on the topic ‘Young people have the power to influence public opinion and create a lasting impact on society’s values and culture’.
‘In debating the topic, many nominees used examples of young leaders and success stories such as Mark Zuckerberg, Malala Yousafzai and Marita Cheng to support their argument,’ he said.
The winners will be determined by a panel of judges.