The News has sat down with Shepparton’s high school leadership cohort to hear from the young future leaders in our region. This week, we spoke to Goulburn Valley Grammar School’s school captains.
This year’s school captains are Layla O'Callaghan and Xavier Schmedje.
Layla O’Callaghan
Layla has a love of both the arts and sport, participating in netball and dance with the school.
“I play netball for the school, also I played piano for a few years,” she said.
“I did ballet for a long time and now I dance in the school group, which I captain.”
Outside school, however, Layla spends her time behind a pen.
“I like writing in my spare time, it’s how I express myself,” she said.
Her passion for writing does not stop there, with her favourite subject being literature.
“Literature and legal studies are my favourite and I want to pursue both after school,” she said.
Throughout her years at GVGS, Layla has seen several prefects go through, looking up to every one, and hopes to be a role model in her final year.
“I always looked up to prefects and captains. They had an influence on me and I want to do that for others,” she said.
Community, acceptance and appreciation are the core values for Layla during her captaincy.
“One of my biggest goals is to unify the community, we are a good community but I want to expand that,” she said.
“I also want to increase acceptance within the school, and appreciation, too.”
Xavier Schmedje
Xavier has a passion for sports, having played for several teams during his schooling career.
“I play hockey for Mooroopna and badminton for the school,” he said.
“I used to play cricket, but I’ve dropped that.
“I’m also this year’s hockey captain.”
Outside school, Xavier enjoys family time as well as outdoor recreation.
“I spend time with my family and my dog,” he said.
“I also do a bit of fishing.”
Next year, Xavier hopes to go into engineering, working on either planes or robots.
“I really enjoy science, especially physics, and I’m hoping to go into engineering, either robotics or aerospace,” he said.
When it came time to put his name in for prefect allocations, Xavier couldn’t turn down the chance.
“It was a really good opportunity to give back to the school community and better myself,” he said.
Xavier hopes to bring the school back to its pre-COVID glory.
“I hope to run more initiatives and connect the school a bit more. The way it was before COVID, really,” he said.
“It’s important to me that we build a stronger community between year levels.”