Nyibol Atoc has all the makings of a leader.
The 17-year-old is Staughton College’s inaugural cultural captain, organiser of several cultural fashion parades and the host of Samoan Language Week concerts.
And earlier this month, she added a gong to her name as recipient of a Melton council youth diversity award.
Nyibol was nominated by her school’s multicultural education aide, Yvette Medina, for her “great leadership skills and a responsibility and thoughtfulness that we wish to see in all our students”.
“Nyibol is an ambassador of humility, kindness, perseverance [and] wisdom,” Ms Medina said. “We know there are great things in store for her.”
Nyibol says she was initially surprised at receiving the award. “Then it was a mixture of feeling proud and humbled at the same time.”
The Kurunjang teen says she wants to continue raising cultural awareness and, on leaving school, to work in law enforcement or criminology.
Aleyna Beki, Karlee Maitland, Lee Williams, Cassandra Hounsell, Melvin Monleh, Ash Linnegar, Rhiannon Stiglbauer, Stephanie Arico and Mary Klenkowski also received awards from the council’s youth advisory committee in various categories.
