A student at Mountain View Adventist College (Sydney, NSW) has received the 2019 Zonta Achievement Award for a Young Indigenous Woman.
Year 12 student Minnie Evans received the state-wide award as part of NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week, which was held in early July. The annual award is given to a young Indigenous woman in her final year of high school who has benefited their school community through leadership, initiative, service and/or determination to finish their high school education.
School principal Julia Heise said Minnie is an important asset to her school.
“Minnie has made a significant contribution to the school and church community and I am very proud of not only her achievements, but also her positive and inclusive attitude,” Mrs Heise said.
Minnie is currently a school prefect and leads the basketball and Oztag teams at MVAC. She is also in charge of Sisterhood: a group designed to empower younger students to be themselves in a variety of creative ways. Minnie says the award has reinforced her faith and enabled her to address how important her family is to her.
“I was . . . raised by a community which included my aunties, uncles, nans, pops and to be acknowledged made me proud to be a strong Thungutti Bundjalung woman,” she said.
“This award gives me the confidence to work hard, understand where I come from and share my culture and family values.”
