St.George Queensland Reds Pasifika squad members headed to Woodridge State High School for the graduation ceremony of the Reds Rise Up program.
Established with the support of the Logan Leadership Team and linked to Logan's City of Choice Two-Year Action Plan, the Reds Rise Up program forms part of Queensland Rugby’s Pacific Islander Community Engagement Project which is a Commonwealth Games Legacy Project.
The pilot program was delivered in partnership with Woodridge State High School where 15 Pasifika students in Year 7 to Year 9 set goals with school staff to ensure they were making positive choices towards their education.
Queensland Rugby incentivised the program with rewards students who achieve their goals through the provision of Reds apparel and merchandise, Reds player visits and participant attendance to team training sessions and games.
Caleb Timu is one of the Reds players involved in the program and having grown up in the Logan region, he is passionate about empowering the next generation.
“I think a lot of Polynesian kids need someone to look up to and someone to motivate them to achieve their goals. This program provides these kids with someone they can look up to and get advice from,” he said.
“Seeing their growth and their leadership from being shy kids to standing up and talking in front of other students has been awesome.”
The Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services and Member for Woodridge, Hon Cameron Dick MP attended the graduation ceremony along with Logan Councillor Russell Lutton.
Cr Lutton is also part of the Logan Leadership Team who have partnered with Queensland Rugby on the project for the past two years.
Students who have been a part of the program have appreciated the opportunity to work closely with the Reds players.
Punga Punga, a student at the school and the inaugural winner of the Reds Rise Up Student of the Year Award said: “It’s an honour to have the Reds come and talk to you about what goals are and how to set your goals. They’ve inspired me.”
Woodridge State High School teacher, Jeremiah Papailou, who helped introduced the program to the school, credited the Reds players for inspiring students.
“Words can’t explain the purpose and the benefits of having Reds personally here and speaking to the boys. The players pretty much become the student mentors and they look up to these players,” he said.
“It’s rewarding for the boys, they respect everything that comes out of the Reds player’s mouths and this helps them to improve some areas of their schooling, so it’s most definitely a huge benefit having the Reds out here.”
Queensland Rugby Head of Diversity and Pathways – Joel Johnston said: “This program is a significant step in the development of our Pasifika strategy and we can’t thank the Logan Leadership Team and Woodridge State High School for their confidence in and support of Queensland Rugby to deliver this program.”
“Our 2017 Reds squad has a number of players of Pasifika background who are more than willing to share their stories and provide support and aspiration for the next generation of young Queenslanders and it’s great to see the effect they had on the students in this program.”
