On 13th September, four students from Braybrook College and one student from Southern Cross Grammar participated in the annual Youth of the Year competition hosted by the Sunshine Lions Club. The event celebrates the achievements of candidates in leadership, citizenship, academics, sport and culture, as well as public speaking. Our four candidates - Nayna Addisu, Aaliyah Martin, Aonnesha Roy and Georgia McCartin - proudly represented themselves and the school. At the public speaking event, they responded to impromptu questions on the effects of political correctness on free speech and who they would swap lives with, before presenting a 5-minute prepared speech on a topic of their choice.

Congratulations to Georgia McCartin on winning the Public Speaking Award for her speech "Fair Game", highlighting the inequality between men and women in AFL. A further congratulations to Aonnesha Roy, who won the overall Youth of the Year prize for her application and speech, "What's in a Name?", discussing the historical and social factors behind epistemic violence. Aonnesha will represent the Sunshine Lions Club at the next finals in February 2027.