In the last week of term 2 Galen Catholic College’s Senior School leaders Olivia Storer, Aaron Taylor, Rebecca Morris and Blake Nixon were personally invited by Cathy McGowan, the federal member for our Indi electorate, to visit Parliament House. The main purpose of the visit was to become familiar with the routines of parliament and understanding and appreciating what being a good leader entails. Cathy explained to our school leaders that the students had a very similar role to her and that leadership and representing the people you are leading is very important.

The students were invited by Cathy to the special dining room for lunch where she introduced the students to many other members of parliament as well as the opportunity to speak to the students about the pros and cons about being leaders.

We attended Question Time and Cathy delivered an inspiring speech to Parliament about how important that young leaders in the Indi electorate were to her and she was so pleased that the students of Galen Catholic College were able to visit her. After question time Cathy invited us all back to her office where she explained a lot of the reasons and procedures that occurred during this session.

Galen Catholic College certainly appreciated the kind offer and opportunity that Cathy gave to our young leaders to come and visit her in Canberra. This will undoubtedly leave a huge impression for our students as they embark on their their aspirations of being leaders in the future.

These were the comments from our students that were fortunate to visit Cathy McGowan.

I had a fantastic time in Canberra. Cathy and her staff were all very friendly and welcoming and made us feel as though they really valued what we had to say. I learnt so much about parliament that I didn’t previously know and the trip has sparked an interest in politics that I didn’t know I had in me. The highlight of the trip for me was definitely question time and being able to talk about it with Cathy and her team afterwards was fantastic, as they were able to answer all of our questions. It was a real privilege to attend the trip and I hope that more young leaders from our school and from Wangaratta will be lucky enough to experience what we did.  Olivia Storer

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to the Parliament House in Canberra. As student leaders we were invited by Cathy McGowan to visit and observe what leadership is all about. I was not sure what to expect and I was looking forward to the experience of such an amazing opportunity. Meeting Cathy and her team was an eye opener into politics and the way that our local area of Indi is being run. Having the pleasure of listening to her speak about leadership was something I will never forget. I can’t fault anything, as I was appreciative of being recognized for leadership and being shown around Parliament house was incredible. Overall, it was a great educational experience and I hope it continues for others.  Rebecca Morris