Follow the Dream Leadership Camp

This year's annual St Philip's College Follow the Dream Leadership camp took students to Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The focus of these excursions is to build students' knowledge and understanding of university and career pathways, foster a broader cultural appreciation, and ultimately develop students' leadership capacity. 

Students visited the University of Queensland and Griffith University on the Gold Coast to expand their understanding of various subject areas and to inspire them to pursue higher education. They participated in an engineering workshop, languages and linguistics workshop, and a VR pharmacology session, learning about accommodation, scholarship opportunities, and campus life at both universities.

As part of the experience, students engaged in a number of local Aboriginal cultural activities, including a tour of Jellurgal at Burleigh Heads with local Kombumerri people and a tour of Fingal Head/Buninybah with the local Minjungbal families. They learned about local dreaming stories, their language, and the history of the areas.

Students were treated to an exclusive tour of the Brisbane Broncos Headquarters at Red Hill, which included a behind-the-scenes look at life at the Brisbane Broncos, including the player change rooms and training facilities. They also participated in leadership and career workshops with Thomas Draper and met NRLW and former NRL players. Students received plenty of Broncos merchandise to wear at the Broncos game against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Later that week, students attended the Gold Coast Suns game against the Adelaide Crows and were part of the guard of honour to lead out the Gold Coast Suns players onto the field.

The highlight for many students were the trips to the beach. This was the first time some students had seen the ocean, and for most of them, it was the first time swimming at a beach!

Students also spent time shopping at Pacific Fair, sampled street food at Miami Marketta, and visited Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary to learn about birds, plants and animals from all over the world.