I did the Award through Marist College Canberra in the 1980s. I have incredible memories of camps and hikes in the mountains near Canberra and longer trips in outback NSW. I leant to set goals, to work to achieve them and to lead others. There was always a strong emphasis on participants working together to make decisions with the adults only there to guide rather than direct. After I completed my Gold Award I spent a number of years helping to run the programme at my old school. In 1995 I was lucky enough to be part of the Australian contingent to IGAT95 in Indonesia.

The award has played a huge part in my life. It’s where I met my wife, another Gold Awardee. Friends I made through the Award at school and who I met in Indonesia on IGAT 95 I count as some of my oldest and dearest.
Professionally my early career teaching outdoor education and later in emergency management were inspired by my participation in the award scheme. My first introduction to the NSW State Emergency Service was undertaking the service component of my Bronze Award as 14 year old. 30 years later I was leading the organisation with 300 staff and 10,000 volunteers. I would recommend the Award to any young person thinking about doing it and I would encourage them to persevere and get as much out of it as they can.