Student leadership

New student leaders focus on bringing values to life

Dio Head Prefect Aniva Clarke, who has been an environmental activist since she was 10 years old, wants to use her role this year to lead the School’s studentfocused sustainability initiatives and promote greater awareness of climate change and environmental issues.

Aniva is one of 12 global youth advisors on the Children’s Advisory Team (CAT), established last year to facilitate youth consultations on children’s rights, the environment and climate change.

“I grew up connected to the natural world, spending a lot of time immersed in nature,” says Samoan-raised Aniva, who is also the School’s Pasifika group co-leader.

“This nurtured my love for the environment and desire to protect my home. All these elements have played a big role in who I am today.”

Aniva’s name, which means ‘the Milky Way’ in Samoan, represents her

Polynesian ancestors, their courage and resilience, and their strong connection to the natural environment.

“My parents held the strong belief that raising my sister, Elei, and me in Samoa was important for us to understand where we belong, our culture and our values,” she says.

“I’m very proud to be Samoan, so being able to share my culture and Pacific values with the Dio community is very important to me.”

Putting Values Into Action

“We know there can be a gap between knowing our values and actually living them,” says Aniva.

“For many of us, we understand these values, but may find it harder to put them into action.”

That is where Aniva and Deputy Head Prefect Sammy Smith, along with the help of their Year 13 cohort, came up with their theme for the year, which is ‘Bridging the Gap’.

Aniva and Sammy have identified several gaps they want to bridge this year, including the gaps between year levels, diversity and sustainability.

“We want to use our theme of ‘Bridging the Gap’ to celebrate and embrace our diversity, to care for our environment and to find similarities between ourselves and each other,” says Sammy.

Sammy, who is an active volunteer surf lifesaver and instructor, is passionate about practising whanaungatanga (forming and maintaining relationships) as a way of instilling a sense of belonging.

“It’s about connecting different parts of our lives, and different parts of the School community,” she says. “We often just stick to relationships within our peer groups as those are the most comfortable.