The future of Melton is in good hands with young leaders like Jonah Hermance.
A year 11 student at St Francis Catholic College, Jonah was recently awarded the Youth Champion of the West by the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation.
However, this came as a surprise to the local teen, who accepted the award on July 26 at Grazeland.
“It was quite unexpected, to be honest. I found out from mum, who told me I was on a shortlist,” said Jonah .
To win, Jonah had to ‘demonstrate incredible potential or achievement’ and ‘contribute to the betterment’ of those living in the community.
He earned the recognition by creating safe spaces and facilitating conversations on mental health amongst male adolescents, particularly in activities like sport.
Particular assessment criteria for the award included impactful and innovative leadership, collaboration and community engagement, and measurable outcomes – something that Jonah has delivered in spades.
He said mental health was something that was “very important” to him and that he wanted to help others get through difficult times.
“I like to have an optimistic view on life – sometimes you hit a certain point [in life] that feels incredibly low but when you get out of that, it’s difficult to get that low again.”
Recently announced as one of the school captains for next year, Jonah has no plans of slowing down when it comes to helping others.
“I’m looking at doing a psychology course at uni … and I’d like to have a program on it next year and beyond [at school],” he said.
