Deputy Principal

Student Leadership – Our Future is Bright!

Next week, Mount Alvernia College will be announcing the 2026 Student Leadership Team to our community. I know the 2025 Captains will offer their roles with reluctance. They have been outstanding and have achieved what they set out to do: make our College a better place for all.

Observing student leaders in action is one of the many reasons I love being an educator. Their joy, youth and enthusiasm are the best counterbalances to the gloomy outlook of our current news services. Uniting a cohort, a House and a College is no easy feat, nor is balancing academics with the demands of leadership that often requires a short notice pivot. We and their future employers will be so lucky to have them.

The leadership process at Mt A is a serious and concerted effort and rightly so. It commenced back in May and continues to next week. The multiple layers and checkpoints ensure we are taking all aspects into consideration and placing the right people in the right roles. This depth offers fairness in the discernment.

First Phase:  Written Application

In May, Year 11 students wishing to apply for leadership are offered an application package. This package required hand-written responses to a range of questions that allowed students to reflect on their character strengths, role models, personal stories, leadership attributes, Franciscan approach and the many ways they involved themselves in Mt A life with a sense of integrity and enthusiasm. This written application allows students who may not have shone in public forums to demonstrate their talents and values to the College Leadership Team.

Second Phase: Interviews

Student voice is important at Mt A. The interview allows students to bring their written application to life and to offer other perspectives to the interview panel that the written application may not have provided for. Preparedness for an interview or professional conversation is also a vital leadership skill. Students applying for College Captain are interviewed by a panel that includes the Principal, Deputy Principal of Catholic Identity and Religious Life of the College and myself. House and Portfolio Captains are entrusted to these two Deputy roles. House Captains participate in another interview with their Head of House who is accompanied by a fellow Head of House on the panel to ensure the interview and recommendations are free of bias. Offering interview panels at every stage safeguards the integrity of the process.

Third Phase: Speeches

The capacity to speak with confidence in public is a vital element of a good leader. It is what we remember most of the great leaders of our world. While a short speech, it is an opportunity to connect with the community and offer a vision with authenticity. The Mt A audience wants to hear results over rhetoric.  For our Portfolio Captain nominations, students are given a multimodal platform to offer their vision for students to view on MyMtA.

Fourth Phase: Voting 

Just as student voice is important for those applying for leadership, it is also important students have their say in their preferred candidate to lead them. Staff as well. Homeroom time is offered for voting to take place to ensure most staff and students participate. Every position goes through a voting process. The combination of staff and student voting allows the nuance of substantiated judgement and sentimental reasoning. The confidential process allows students to vote for their preferred candidate rather than an expectation to vote for their friend.

Fifth Phase: Decisions made for the Student Leadership Team

Of the four phases, there is not one phase that trumps another. If votes were the deciding factor, why bother with the rest? If the best speech was the determinator, why bother with the interview? We achieve the goal of a group of students with a diverse range of abilities and strengths when all these factors contribute to the discernment.  The final decisions are made by the College Leadership Team in consultation with a range of stakeholders including Heads of House, Head of Sport and other Extended Leadership roles. 

This fifth phase is the most difficult of all. We have more than 14 outstanding Year 11 students and only 14 leadership roles. There will be students who are disappointed at the end of this process. We will be disappointed for them too. We are buoyed by the efforts of the unsuccessful candidates from 2025 who have continued to lead their Houses, sport or extra-curricular pursuits with unbridled enthusiasm without a badge. They are excellent contributors to our community. We hope our 2026 applicants who have not been chosen on this occasion continue to keep contributing so positively to Mt A. 

In Week 6, applicants will be advised if they have been successful or unsuccessful in their application. Unsuccessful applicants will be supported by their Head of House and offered an opportunity to speak with a panel member for feedback should they wish. Successful applicants will not know what role they have been successful in securing until it is announced to the entire College Community at an assembly. We believe the element of surprise on this occasion allows for the greatest impact. There are no spoiler alerts at Mt A. 

We look forward to announcing our successful 2026 Student Leadership Team on Friday 22nd August. They have had a wonderful opportunity to observe outstanding leadership with our 2025 Captain Collective.  The future at Mt A – and our world - is very bright.

Every blessing,

Michelle Licina

Deputy Principal Student Development and Wellbeing