Name: Sarah Hodge (Sar)
Age: 19
School & Grad Year: St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School, grad 2019
yLead involvement: First met yLead as an SLC participant in 2019, then came back to mentor at the Sydney MAD conference that year. I then went on the Help Out Schoolies Alternative when I graduated at the end of 2019. Basically been at every yLead event I possibly could since then!
Favourite quote: “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.” – Edith Wharton
A: Sarah! You are an integral part of the yTeam, contributing so many hours both at schools and in the office! Tell us how you met yLead and what it was that made you want to come back and volunteer?
S: I first met yLead as a participant at SLC in 2019 as the very new school captain of St Aidan’s AGS. Walking away from that conference at the end of the week I was filled with an overwhelming passion, love and admiration for what had been created and discussed in that space. They are memories, moments and experiences I will forever cherish.
I think that anyone who has been fortunate enough to be a part of a yLead event will understand that there is a magic that is created in those spaces. It is a feeling that is so wonderful and unique, and so difficult to define or explain. It was that feeling that made me want to come back; the opportunity to be a part of creating that environment so that others could be afforded the same magical experience that I was as a yLead participant.
A: Outside of yLead, what do you like to fill your time with?
S: I am currently studying a dual degree in Education and Arts, majoring in English and History/Ancient History so a lot of my time is spent studying, but I definitely would say I have a deep love of learning and I absolutely LOVE what I am studying. Outside of work and uni, I like to keep pretty active. For me, that looks like playing on a volleyball and touch footy team depending on the season as well as playing on the yLead social indoor netball team NunInDaHoops. I also love getting to spend time out in nature, so I am always down for a hike!
A: For anyone that hasn’t met you before, describe yourself in 3 words.
S: I am dedicated, loving and grateful.
A: Since lots of plans changed in 2020, what are two things that you want to do/achieve in 2021?
S: 2020 was truly wild. I actually decided to lean in to my love of adventuring and take a gap year… and long story short, I got stuck over in Cambodia for 6 months. So this year I am super excited to continue exploring, but this time in my own back yard. I’ve got my yLead Travel Overland Track trip booked in for September down in Tassie, so I can’t wait to get to tick that off my bucket list.
Something else I am really looking forward to is my first uni placement in a school at the end of this year. I’m really lucky that through in-schools I’ve gotten to go and experience days at so many different schools, but I’m super keen to have the opportunity to be in the classroom and learn from this different perspective!
A: What’s the biggest lesson that you’ve learnt from yLead that you would pass on to others?
S: Without a doubt the value of an individual. It’s one of the first things that you’ll hear at yLead; that leadership is any action that makes the world YOU touch a better place, but I’ve been so lucky through yLead to see that in reality. It is incredible the impact that every person can have and the value that they add. It is truly limitless, and now knowing, understanding and seeing that in action is such a privilege. Whether your actions be big or small, you as an individual and your impact are so important!
