Class of 2014/15 honoured at the ‘G’

They say in order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. AFL SportsReady’s Victorian class of 2014/15 will get the chance to prove that theory after celebrating their graduation on Saturday night 28th February, marking the start of the organisation’s national rollout of graduation ceremonies.

The AFL SportsReady team were on hand to help celebrate the achievements of over 221 Victorian trainees who graduated this year. A further 232 trainees, including 122 Indigenous, will be graduating across the country over the coming few weeks.

In a night full of highlights, John Paul College trainee Natasha Dewhirst took out the prized award and was presented AFL SportsReady’s 2015 Victorian Trainee of the Year.

John Riddle, Faith Development Coordinator of John Paul College was elated by the level of dedication and commitment Natasha has brought to the College community.

“As Natasha’s supervisor I have been amazed with her professional performance” Said Mr Riddle. 

Natasha has made a difference in the lives of many students at the school and is one of the driving forces behind the success of an initiative providing food to the Frankston homeless, where she volunteers much of her time.

Mr Riddle was glowing in Natasha’s endorsement as the 2014/15 trainee of the Year, crediting her contribution to the college by describing her as “a talented, energetic and engaging young woman, who is passionate in making a difference.”

ArtsReady trainee Ilana Calgaro’s career stocks are rising, as she was presented with the HostPLUS Rising Star award.

Ilana’s manager Aliesha Ellis, Contact Centre Supervisor at Ticketmaster, describes her as “a consistently hard working and dedicated young woman, who was able to learn on her feet and make a real contribution to the Customer Service Department.”

“Illana has since been promoted to the Event Programming Centre where she is now a full-time employee and has become an invaluable member of their team,” said Ms Ellis.

Launched in 2013, ArtsReady is supported by the Australian Government and is a national initiative to give young people a foot in the door in the huge array of roles in the arts and creative sector. AFL SportsReady are now beginning to enjoy the program’s achievements, as Illana is one of ArtsReady’s first successful graduates.

AFL SportsReady’s Victorian State Manager, Paul Broderick said “Both winners have shown a myriad of exceptional skills and talents. They have earned the respect of their colleagues and have gone above and beyond in their workplace and have shown a great deal of passion and commitment in their roles.”

AFL SportsReady CEO James Montgomery commented further and said “Each year we are proud of the cohort of graduating trainees that have worked hard and shown enthusiasm and dedication in their roles. We at AFL SportsReady and ArtsReady aim to set young people up for success not failure. And no better example of that are the young people who we have graduating this year.”

“We use our networks of partners to provide job opportunities that young people may not get the chance to access, whether it be with the AFL Industry, our corporate partners, government bodies and now the Arts and creative sector and the hundreds of small businesses we work with across the country. We help people to join the dots.”

Mr Montgomery also paid tribute to all of our host employers who have given the trainees the start in their career.

“We congratulate all of our graduates and wish them luck as they embark on the next part of their journey,” Mr Montgomery concluded.

ARTICLE: Marissa Pagliarello
IMAGE: AFL SportsReady's Victorian Trainee of the Year, Natasha Dewhirst, CEO, – James Montgomery and HostPLUS Rising Star Award recipient, Ilana Calgaro. 
DATE: Tuesday, 03 March, 2015