EVANSTON Park’s Jack Gill and Evanston’s Rebecca Marrone have each been nominated for a South Australian Young Achiever award.
The Gawler locals have been nominated in the Regional Service and Create Change categories, respectfully, and will vie for an award among hundreds of inspiring young South Australians.
Mr Gill, 21, is current Gawler Environment Centre chair and long-time member of the Gawler Youth Advisory Committee.
He was one of two youth representatives on Gawler’s Climate Emergency Action Plan Working Group and is now in the throes of planning a ‘Bike Month’ initiative for this April.
“My focus has always been to drive change in individual mindsets and the community’s attitude towards the steps available to become more sustainable, internally driven, and prosperous,” the Trinity College graduate said.
“My volunteer involvement in various community groups and programs aim to directly and positively impact my surrounding region.
“...Bike Month is my most recent project, with its aim to start the discussion about how Gawler, and regional communities, can utilise bikes to recover economically from COVID-19, reduce emissions, and increase the vibrancy of town centres.”
Dr Marrone, 28 graduated Xavier College and went on to earn a PhD in Educational Psychology, for which she investigated the role of creativity to promote student engagement with STEM and in particular, mathematics.
The OAM recipient has worked across various programs and initiatives to drive change for young women pursuing STEM education and careers.
She currently volunteers for the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) Choosemaths program, where she mentors year 10 girls in mathematics and support them as they enter senior secondary school.
Since 2017 she has developed and run a professional development training series for Australian school teachers, designed to provide them with the expertise and skills to support their students’ pursuit of STEM subjects.
The University of South Australia currently employs Dr Marrone as a data project co-ordinator in a Research Fellow position in the Centre for Change and Complexity in Learning (C3L) – a role that includes directing and delivering data-driven projects that support young women to achieve higher grades in STEM subjects.
Her primary role is to run the Epic Challenge program, delivered on behalf of UniSA, NASA and The Epic Education Foundation, which presents un-answered space-based questions to students.
It aims to support learning alongside real-world problems and developing creativity and problem-solving competencies.
Judging for the Young Achiever Awards will take place Friday, March 26 with finalists presented and winners announced at an awards gala presentation dinner, Friday, May 21.
Category winners will each receive a trophy and a prize pack valued at $2000.
One outstanding winner will be recognised as the South Australian Young Achiever of the Year and will also receive a holiday package from Hilton Adelaide.