The March college assembly is themed to International Women's Day and leadership. Student leaders for the year are presented with their badges and acknowledged by the school community. This year the guest speaker was former student Shanon Mckenzie. Shanon was College Captain in 2016 when the current year 12 students were in year 7.

Shanon Mckenzie's address

This was an incredibly interesting speech to write.

Just to put things in perspective:

You guys probably think I’m super old
I don’t know what a tiky toky is or what video lives in my head rent free
I was listening to the so fresh hits of 2005 in the car on the way here

This is what I’m working with. I’m so out of touch that I only learnt two days ago that skinny jeans are no longer in.

But I really wanted to re-capture the high-school experience. So I decided, the best thing to do was to sit down and write the entirety of this speech – at like 10 o clock last night. I got about 5 minutes in and then I ended up in a YouTube spiral that started with a short documentary about asteroids and ended at about midnight with me watching interviews with harry styles’ mum. I haven’t done that in a long time.

I’m about to expose all the teachers in the room – but when you become an adult – you just feel like a confused kid crawling their way through life. There is no handbook. That’s what Google’s for. I feel like this all of the time. I have no idea what I'm doing ever. I’m just making it up as I go along.

And I’m telling you – I don’t think I’m the only one. I was on Amazon the other day, and I found a three-sided toothbrush. This world is a truly incredible place. This is like surround sound for your teeth. Imagine Jane just woke up one day and was like “Suzan; I don’t care what you think. I’m doing this for me. You know what this place needs? A three-sided toothbrush.”

And Suzan was probably like “That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.”

But Jane doesn’t care – She’s not doing it for Suzan, she’s doing it for her.

She’s an independent woman of the 21st century.

Now, I know we’re talking about a toothbrush here but it’s so much bigger than that. It’s not about the toothbrush. It’s about what the toothbrush represents.

I’ll let you in on a secret. You don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to be the top of your class or ace that test or even go to uni.

But here’s the catch - You have to do something.

If you want to go to uni, go to uni. But If you want to invent a three-sided toothbrush, we all know how I feel about that. But in every single aspect of your life, do it for you and absolutely no one else. The only difference between the you that’s sitting in front of me right now and the version of you that’s done incredible things is a whole bunch of failure.

Everybody sucks at stuff. And if you don’t suck at stuff yet, Honey, you’ve got a big storm comin’. When I was younger, I thought I was invincible, I thought I didn’t suck at anything. I was cruising through life like yeah this is easy. And then I started Maths Methods.

So just fail. Don’t be scared of it. Fail 100 times, as quickly as you can, all at once, while you’re hopping on one foot and the world is on fire around you. The best part is that even if you’re convinced that you can’t get out of bed tomorrow. You will. And if you’re scared of what other people will think, then there are 8 billion people on this earth – a whole bunch of them think I’m insane and I still got invited back here. Amazing.

Look at me. I’ve got a bit of a dad bod, there’s nothing special about me, I’m only a certified freak five days a week because I take the weekends off and I suck at most things I try. I’m ok with that.

There’s only one thing in the world that you need to be good at. It’s not Maths, or English or Physics. It’s picking your ass up off the floor and trying again.

Six years ago, playing soccer, I got kicked in the face. I don’t know if you can see my nose, but this wasn’t her first rodeo. Not only did I break my nose – again – but if wasn’t for a kick in the face, I never would have found out I had a tumour growing just behind my eyeballs.

Had a random girl not kicked me in the face, I’d be blind today. Dear random girl: Thank you.

A year later, and a week after having the tumour removed, in the very same hospital, I lost my dad. A few weeks after that, I was standing right where I am right now – telling 1000 other kids that no matter what high school throws at them, they’ve got this. Then I went to Uni to be a paramedic. That lasted three weeks.

I then became qualified in 3D modelling because I’m super cool and all I wanted to do was make video games. My first real adult career job interview when I was 20 at a place called Luma Pictures. They make Marvel movies in there and I thought “If I don’t get this job, I’ll never forgive myself.” I didn’t get the job.

Two years ago, I started my first business. Two weeks later, I was broke. I tried again around a year ago, and well, we all know how 2020 went. But, despite all of that, three weeks ago, I hired my first employee.

The world isn’t going to end tomorrow, or the next day, because you left your blazer at home or forgot to hand in your assignment. We’re taught from a pretty early age that we’re not good enough. That someone else has to choose us – for us to be what?

Qualified? Popular? School Captain?

But you don’t have to be the victim of your environment. You’re allowed to be the architect of it.

Thank you.

College Captains' address

Welcome to MGSC’s annual International Women’s Day Assembly in which we celebrate all women and all their diversities, a day that occurred on the 8th of March 2021.

International Women’s Day was first celebrated in 1911, where more than one million men and women attended rallies campaigning for women’s right to work, vote and more. And while today, women are impressive role models in every aspect of life, they are still paid less than their male counterparts and are not as represented in industries such as business or politics. There’s still room for us to create a better future for the next generation of students at MGSC.

Whilst we should strive to celebrate women everyday, this day is about coming together and empowering each other as equals. In the words of Michelle Obama, “Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered.”

Successful women aren’t defined by their wealth, beauty or status but rather the impact they make on those around them by staying true to themselves.

When I first came to MGSC, I was like: okay, but what about the boys? But who needs men really? We, regardless of our gender, don’t need anyone to be the best versions of ourselves. That comes from taking every opportunity that comes our way and speaking up without the fear of being criticised for our opinions. If you stay true to yourself and say what you want to say, then no one else can define your success. And that’s what empowerment is all about: allowing each other to grow into the best versions of ourselves without bringing each other down in order to seem like you’re something that you’re not.

Around us, we see many powerful women, who don’t necessarily have huge platforms- they could be our friends, our family or people we’ve never met before. To make a difference, you don’t need to be Greta Thunberg whose voice is heard around the world in order to make a positive impact.

By simply standing up for what you believe in and being who you really are, you can unknowingly make a difference to people you’ve never met before.

Today, we’ll hear from Shanon Mackenzie who was the 2016 College Captain when the Class of 2021 were in year 7. I can promise you, the inspiration that Shanon was as an absolute queen when Lily and I were tiny year 7s, not much shorter than we are today, has greatly influenced the leaders we have become. Not all of us have to hold a leadership role to empower those around us - by simply putting yourself in someone else’s shoes or asking a friend if they’re okay, you’re making a difference to someone. You’re encouraging them to be themselves by using your voice.

And so next time you see something you don’t agree with or you’re in a situation where you can help someone else, stay true to yourself and speak up.

And so not only do we celebrate women’s rights today, but we also celebrate the leaders around us who are using the opportunity of leadership to speak up. Particularly, the students at MGSC who’ve put their hands up to represent our school and will be recognised today for their efforts.

We leaders at MGSC are here to represent your voice and by presenting the leaders with their badges on this day, we’re showcasing just how far women have come and how much further we can go by settling for nothing less than what we deserve.

Finally, as Kylie Jenner once said, “If you’re different, or if you think something about you is just weird and out of the ordinary, I just think that’s so dope.”

Performance

The assembly concluded with a performance:

'She used to be mine' from Waitress The Musical by Sara Bareilles

Directed by Ms Blanka West with Ms Wendy Harvey on keyboard

Solo performances by Chris Barnshaw, Anna Nelson and Kira McArdle

Student success stories

Open water swimmer

More stories