Ellecha Thorp is a 16-year-old Cape Naturaliste College School student who was the 2015 Country to Canberra Essay Competition winner, representing Western Australia. You can read her winning essay here.
I’ve always had an interest in politics and by this little thing I like to call fate, a teacher of mine handed me the cut-out advertising the Country to Canberra Essay Competition and I knew straight away I had to enter. I wrote the essay and submitted it not really thinking much of it. I did look into what the prize entailed for this year and realised what an absolutely amazing opportunity the winners would have.
A few weeks later I finished work and had a missed call from an unknown number and I called back and spoke to Hannah the wonderful CEO of Country to Canberra who told me I was WA’s Representative on the trip – I was in the car and I just started crying! It was such an overwhelming thing and I felt so honoured.
The trip came up so quickly and soon I found myself on a plane heading over to Canberra. After a long day of travel I finally got to meet Hannah in person and all the other girls. We all got on so well and I am so grateful for the new friendships I have made.
The 2015 PowerTrip was absolutely incredible. From the second we all arrived to the second we left it was a whirlwind of incredible experience after incredible experience.
The highlight for me was the tour of parliament house and question time, and the wealth of politicians we got to meet. To be able to meet the people running our country and actually get to speak with them was personally, one of the best experiences of my life. It was very surreal and before we had the chance to digest each meeting and event we went to, we were off to the next.
Upon returning to the hotel that night, I was able to reflect and try to process everything that had just happened and still to this day I go over and over everything we were able to do and the incredible moments and experiences I got to share with Hannah and the beautiful other winners.
Meeting all these successful women was so amazing because they were all so incredibly down to earth and willing to open up and share their stories. How they got to where they are and the challenges they faced. Each and every one of the women had a unique message to share and in such a short period of time I learnt so much.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful Hannah for creating this opportunity for girls like myself and also to Milli and Clare who volunteered their time to help with the trip. I also think that the amazing and powerful leaders we met deserve a big thankyou for taking their time to meet all of us girls and I know the special memories and things we learnt will forever have a special place in our hearts. The 2015 Country to Canberra Power Trip was something I will treasure the memory of forever, and I am so thankful and grateful to have been able to represent Western Australia.