A FIRST-time Beechworth Secondary College humanities prize won by a student with a love of the discipline recently caught the ears of a former Independent federal Member for Indi. Year 10 student Amy Schilling scooped the award at the end of last year at the school’s presentation night after excelling in three challenges over 12 months. Challenges were writing a 1000-word essay above the year level, compete in a school public debating event and memorise every world capital. Humanities teacher Finn Pedersen said former MP Cathy McGowan recently dropped into the school to present Amy with a copy of her book ‘Cathy goes to Canberra’. “Ms McGowan wanted to meet Amy and was proud to hear about the work she had done for the community too,” he said. Among community contributions, Amy completed a 40km charity walk last year from Beechworth to Wangaratta raising $1290 for children facing famine. Amy also volunteers for the Salvation Army in Beechworth and is an active member of 1st Scouts Beechworth where she has been a leader for Joeys while also helping to raise funds for the local Red Cross branch. “Amy is always looking for opportunities to volunteer if it means helping the community,” Mr Pedersen said. Mr Pedersen also said the humanities prize gives students a chance to focus on a school value of aspiration. He said the humanities prize is open to any student from year seven to year 12. History and legal studies are Amy’s two favourite subjects in humanities. With a passion for history, she wrote her winning essay around women in World War II. “I worked on pretty much every aspect of women in the war - what happened to women when they stayed at home to being nurses," she said. “I just thought it was important to talk about because women were overlooked during World War II." Amy said she’s planning to continue with humanity subjects next year by taking up sociology and history. With a love of helping people, Amy said she has aimed to pursue a humanities related career in the defence force. Mr Pedersen said the Year 10 student wants to help not only those in need but also her country. Ms McGowan said leadership programs in Canberra offered to regional students would be an excellent opportunity for Amy.
