Athlone student wins prestigious Rotary Youth Leadership award
An Athlone student has been selected as the zone final winner for this year’s prestigious Rotary Youth Leadership Development Competition.
The final was hosted by Tullamore & District Rotary Club. The competition, which is one of Rotary Ireland’s longest running youth projects, rewards young people with clear leadership potential based on their extra-curricular activities.
It is run in conjunction with the EU Parliament office in Dublin and Euroscola in Strasbourg.
Maeve Murphy who is a Transition Year student in Athlone was announced as the winner after facing the judging panel in the boardroom of Salutem Advisory and Training, Tullamore. Gabriel Landmark representing Newbridge Rotary was the runner up on the night.
The finalists were interviewed on subjects including topical issues in Europe, community and environmental issues locally, nationally and internationally and leadership. In addition, their knowledge of Rotary and the future of the European Union was tested.
The independent judging panel was chaired by Andrea Scally of Allpro Recruitment and included Sgt. Graham Kavanagh Crime Prevention Officer for Laois-Offaly and Kiera Willimas Operations Manager at Tullamore Credit Union.
Maeve impressed the judges with her knowledge of the environmental and climate change issues threatening our planet and a deep awareness of the role and functions of the European Union. However, the judging panel took some time to reach a decision such was the high calibre of the finalists.
As a result of her success Maeve will now enjoy an all-expenses paid trip to Strasbourg, Belfast and Dublin in the coming months with fellow zone winners from all around the island of Ireland.
The President of Tullamore and District Rotary Breda Colgan extended heartfelt congratulations to Maeve on her outstanding achievement and commended all the students who reached the final, as well as everyone who participated in this year’s competition.
"The quality of presentations this year was exceptional, and great credit is due to all our finalists and indeed everyone who competed in the earlier rounds. We hope all participants found the experience enjoyable and rewarding.
The competition continues to grow stronger each year, thanks in no small part to the invaluable support of teachers and parents. We are sincerely grateful for their encouragement and dedication."
The Rotary Youth Leadership Development Competition is open to 16- and 17-year-olds who are living on the island of Ireland.