On Monday, 3 March, my fellow College Captains and I met at the Watergardens train station—tired but ready to go. Although we had a rocky start with delayed trains, we were all so excited to attend this conference. Walking in, we saw things we weren't expecting. Inside was a huge room with hundreds of green seats, all facing a giant stage. To be honest, I had expected us to sit at a big round table all day, but no—this was definitely going to be something different.

To start off, a dance company came in, encouraging us to get up and learn a cool dance. Every break or short period between speakers, these dancers would return, and we would all smile like crazy and dance around like wild cowboys.

Our first speaker was Thomas Duncan-Watt, an author and screenwriter who has written for shows such as Space Nova and Home and Away. Thomas shared the hardships of starting out, including the heartbreak of being rejected over and over again. Despite being turned down countless times, he never gave up and pursued his dream.

A quote from Thomas’ speech: “Every master was once a disaster.”

To anyone wanting to become a writer or an author, he also said: “Write the book 8-year-old you would have wanted to read.”

Our second speaker was Catherine Laga’aia, an actress who will soon be known to the world as Moana in the live-action film releasing next year. Catherine spoke about her journey through auditioning, fighting for the role, and eventually landing it. She was honest about the hardships of being an actress, and how at times, she even wished she had never accepted the role. But through those difficult times, Catherine realized how lucky she was—and how powerful she had become. She finished filming while studying and graduating Year 12 in Hawaii at the same time.

Every time Catherine felt like giving up, she was always asked this question: “Why would they pick you if they thought you couldn’t do it?” This motivated her to put that costume back on and keep filming.

Fun fact: Catherine’s dad is also an actor and was Jay in Playschool!

Our third speaker was Emma McKeon, an Olympic gold medalist swimmer. Emma is one of the most decorated Olympians, with 12 medals to her name. She shared her 10 key lessons for becoming a great leader and inspiring both others and yourself.

Emma’s List for Great Leadership:

1. Bravery and self-belief are something you can learn.
2. Nerves are good—they mean you are doing something worthwhile.
3. The key to progress is consistency. 3.5. Set smaller, more specific goals.
4. You cannot really rely on ‘feeling’ motivated.
5. We cannot get anywhere on our own.
6. Setbacks, obstacles, and failures can be our biggest teachers—if we allow it. 6.5. Allow yourself time to feel disappointed.
7. There will be parts of everything you do that you don’t enjoy—that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.
8. The importance of good role models.
9. Don’t wait until you’ve reached your goal to be proud of yourself.
10. Don’t be afraid to have big dreams.

Our fourth and final speaker was Majak Daw, the first Sudanese Australian to ever play in the AFL. Majak spoke about his home life, his journey to Australia, and how he discovered AFL. He briefly touched on mental health, emphasising that it's something you should never be ashamed of. Majak also spoke about his family, including his son, Hendrix.

To end the day, we finished with some more cowboy dancing. You betcha!