Kelsey Price is a 16-year-old Middlemount High School student who was the 2015 Country to Canberra Essay Competition winner, representing Queensland. You can read her winning essay here.
Kelsey’s Power Trip was generously sponsored by the Maurice Blackburn Lawyers Women’s Network.
Getting the call, saying that I had won the Country to Canberra essay competition, was the most amazing thing that has ever happened. I was simply overwhelmed.
Excitement grew in me as the Power Trip was getting closer. When I embarked on the plane, I was so nervous, and I didn’t know what to expect. When I landed in Canberra, I was greeted by the other state and territory essay competition winners, and we all got along immediately! It was interesting to learn where the other girls were from and their stories. After all, we all came from completely different parts of Australia, which meant we had diverse stories to tell.
The main day rolled in quickly, and we had a jam-packed schedule, which included time to meet scores of wonderful and influential women. The girls and I went to the Powerful Women’s Breakfast at Farmers Daughter where we gained invaluable advice from women in politics, not-for-profits, the public sector and business. We also went to ABC 666 Canberra and I was selected to be one of the winners who took part in a radio interview with the Mornings Host, Genevieve Jacobs. This was an opportunity I’ll never forget, as I got to speak about my hometown of Middlemount, my aspirations and the ‘Cinderella Complex’, which is the topic I wrote my winning essay on.
During the Power Trip day, we also went on a tour of Parliament House and the War Memorial, had lunch with our Raising Hope Education Foundation Mentors and watched Question Time. We visited more politicians in Parliament House, including Tanya Plibersek MP and Senator Fiona Nash. I was lucky enough to secure a one-on-one chat with my local MP, the Federal Member for Capricornia, Michelle Landry to discuss key Central Queensland issues as well as gender equality and rural education. Finally, we then had dinner with more female politicians like the Assistant Agriculture Minister Anne Ruston and Senator for Tasmania Jacqui Lambie.
As I jumped back on the plane to leave Canberra, my nerves were gone, and I was filled with confidence and motivation. I had such and amazing experience in the ACT and I left with so many ideas to suggest to my community and school about equality and young women’s self-belief. I am very grateful to have this experience and I would love to thank Hannah Wandel for letting me have this amazing opportunity! Also, a big thank you to my sponsor, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers. Without their support for young women and gender equality, this trip would not have been possible.
Thank you to Maurice Blackburn Lawyer’s Women’s Network for generously sponsoring Kelsey’s 2o15 Power Trip.
