School Captain – Mariele Go

My name is Mariele Go, and I am a Geelong High School Captain for 2023. I’ve recently begun my year 12 studies, focussing on English, Maths, Art, Product Design, and Design. I didn’t jump at the idea of running for school captain, as I saw it as a job that provoked my fear of public speaking. But as I sat on the idea a little more, I saw it as an opening to develop my current skills and grow my self-confidence. I wanted to take the opportunity to better myself and the environment my peers studied in. The student voice has become more and more valuable over the years here at Geelong High. As captain, I want to lead by example through my actions, this begins by listening to my cohort and making sure their concerns and ideas are put forward for discussion. I intend to encourage my peers to be more open-minded to intimidating opportunities and to find their inner confidence. Most importantly, I aim to make our final year of high school our best one yet.

School Captain – Alex Aidt

My name is Alex Aidt, and I am one of the proud new school captains of GHS (Geelong High School). I was born in Denmark, moved to Geelong at age 7, and went to school at SGPS (South Geelong Primary School). This school helped me settle into Australia with no issue, and I spent my final year of education at SGPS as one of its first school captains. I then began high school at GHS, where I participated in each annual school production, and jumped at an absurd amount of leadership opportunities. This year, I signed up for school captain because I feel a strong connection to the school community as a whole, and because I believe that I have the ability to amplify the student voice in a new way. As captain, I intend to take on board the concerns and ideas of my fellow students, and ensure that each one is heard, acknowledged, and actioned upon. I feel pride in my education, and I hope that I can help others feel proud of theirs too.

School Vice Captain – Harry Jones

My name is Harry Jones and I am Vice Captain for Geelong High in 2023. To let you know a little bit about myself, at the time of writing this I am 16 years old, I am studying media, theatre studies, mathematical methods, and I have a strong interest in music and film. I applied for the role of School Captain of Geelong High because I was looking for a new challenge and something to contribute to for my last year of high school. I wanted to help create a lasting difference in the school community to help build on the things that I enjoy so much about the school to improve the experiences for other students in their time in high school. In my position of Vice Captain, I want to be a voice for the students of the school, I want to be as approachable as possible and do my absolute best in whatever is asked of me.

School Vice Captain – Will Bibby

It doesn’t feel all that long ago that a much smaller me was sitting in the packed assembly hall, watching in awe as the School Captains addressed the crowd, seemingly with such ease and confidence. I remember thinking to myself, ‘One day, that could be me up there.’ Six years later, I can hardly believe that it will be me up there, addressing the new, nervous year sevens and the rest of the school when we return from our summer holidays next year. My name is Will Bibby, and I am one of the Vice School Captains of Geelong High School for 2023, alongside Harry Jones and the School Captains Alex Aidt and Mariele Go. I applied for this role in early October. However, I’d hoped since Year 7 that I could be part of the leadership team to sustain the values of our school and help students, teachers and our community to learn and grow. In my first year at Geelong High, I was offered and took part in a student leadership program known as 'DOXA.' In this program, a group of students (including Alex and Mariele) from our school and Northern Bay Secondary attended workshops around the Geelong region that helped us gain insight into the problems in our society and how, as leaders, we could help improve the circumstances of anyone that’s living with bullying, poverty, racism, homelessness and many other prevalent issues. This program taught me my core strengths: leadership, respect, honesty, creativity and teamwork. I’m incredibly thankful for this opportunity to learn more about myself and for everything I gained from it, including the motivation to make a positive impact on the lives of others. My wish is to pay it forward, and to encourage and support other students from any school, to embrace this opportunity and to develop their leadership skills. My aim over the next twelve months is to strengthen the values of our school community and to improve the learning environment for all current and future students and teachers at Geelong High School. I will do this by working cooperatively to implement positive changes. I would really love to reintroduce programs such as ‘DOXA,' so that future students can develop personal leadership qualities that will prepare them for life and support them to help our school and community thrive. Thank you to everyone at Geelong High School - peers, teachers, educational support staff and parents - for being there for me since Year 7 and offering me opportunities to learn and develop. I look forward to working with you in 2023!