What was the appeal to participate in the Duke of Ed program and how long have you been involved?

R: I started the Duke of Ed program in Year 9 at St Andrew’s, where it was encouraged by Mr Goodall to commence the Bronze award, the award took me 4 years to complete in total.

M: What appealed to me about the Duke of Ed program was the part of community service and the opportunity to give back to the community. Through bronze, silver and gold I was able to give back in multiple areas including sports coaching and the reading buddy program.

What kept you motivated to continue the award through Bronze, Silver and Gold?

R: I really enjoyed taking part in the award, especially since it allowed me to broaden and improve my skills, experience the outdoors like I had never done before like Whitewater rafting in Nymboida NSW but also contribute to the community and knowing that a small little action can make someone’s day made me motivated to continue and pursue the award.

M: I believe the main reason I kept going was because of the countless opportunities it offered me. I really enjoyed the adventurous journeys where I was able to connect with many different people from the College and was able to learn many skills.

What activities did you do to complete each component and why did you choose these? Voluntary service, physical recreation, skills, adventurous journey, Gold residential project

R: For my Gold Duke of Ed, my voluntary service was doing Learn to Swim coaching and providing food to Soup Kitchen (Salvation Army) for the homeless. I chose them because I enjoy teaching people such as younger swimmers to learn a key life skill (such as swimming) and donating to soup kitchen was chosen because I really enjoy cooking and to know that what you enjoy doing can benefit someone else is really rewarding. My physical recreation was running. I have really developed a big passion for running over the past couple of years and since I was already doing it a couple of times a week, I thought it would be a great way to be incorporated in my award. My skill was reading, where every week I would set myself a goal to read one chapter of a book or for at least 1 hour each week, I chose this because I find reading to be very relaxing and a good way to take a break from the busyness of reality. My adventurous journey was canoeing in Nymboida (NSW) and Noosa River. I think after doing canoeing in the Silver award, we decided to challenge ourselves to whitewater rafting in Nymboida. My Gold residential project was going on the Lady Elliott Island trip with school as part of the Biology and Marine course, where we conducted research and analysed data on marine ecosystems, I thought it would be a great way to incorporate it as my Gold residential project because I really enjoy learning about marine ecosystems, even more, when we got the chance to experience it first hand by snorkeling everyday.

M: I was extremely lucky to go on a 3-week exchange to Osaka (Japan) to complete my gold residential project. It was an amazing cultural experience where I was able to learn a lot about myself. Through the physical education component, I mostly focused on my training for Kokoda, where we worked up to the 30km run in Brisbane. My skills included learning to become a Learn to Swim teacher and learning to become a coach of netball. Overall, through these experiences, I was able to meet many people throughout the college in primary and secondary which broadened my friendships and enhanced my high school experience.

Describe the biggest challenge that you faced doing Duke of Ed. How did you overcome this?

R: I think my biggest challenge that I faced doing Duke of Ed was whitewater rafting in the Nymboida River in NSW, especially never having it done before made me hesitate whether I should go at all, but I overcame this by being surrounded by supportive peers and this made the experience so much more memorable and pleasant.

M: One of the biggest challenges I faced was the adventurous journey where we went to the Nymboida River, and we had to face white water. It really challenged my ability to pack well to ensure everything was dry including our tents. It also challenged my confidence as when you see white water you must commit to the drop and remain composed.

What has been your greatest personal achievement?

R: I think my greatest personal achievement has been to complete the whole award in general, including the Bronze, Silver and Gold award since some people do not complete or get the chance to complete the whole award and I feel really fortunate to have taken part in it.

M: I think my greatest achievement is simply completing my gold. It is a 3-year commitment that has to be completed with the pressures of school and other commitments like sports. It was really special to go to Brisbane to meet other like-minded people who strived to reach the same goal.

What has been your favourite activity/moment?

R: My favourite moment was being involved in the Adventurous journey and camping on the river, it isn’t something you do everyday, and to be out in nature without toilets, showers, service and carrying your own food for four days is definitely a unique experience but I think that’s what made me appreciate the camping experience as it allowed me to disconnect for a few days and enjoy fun camping experiences such as campfires, storytelling and being surrounded by peers.

M: Overall, my favourite activity was my many adventurous journeys (especially Nymboida) and my exchange to Japan. Both experiences really grew my personal capacity and my mindset to challenge. I think these experiences have been pivotal in my growth as a person and I am very grateful for these experiences.

What are the key skills/values you have developed and learnt?

R: The skills and values I continued to develop include navigational skills (to canoe in the river), perseverance (especially in the Adventurous Journeys when it became difficult to paddle), resilience, problem solving and building on camping skills (such as packing effectively, lightly, and waterproofing all equipment for canoeing).

M: The best skills I learnt were patience, especially in my skill component. Working with children in these aspects I had to challenge my patience to ensure they were learning what I was teaching them. I also was able to develop my teamwork. On the adventurous journeys I really had to work with my team to plan our days and decide who would oversee what sections of the camp.

Do you have any advice for someone who might be interested in doing Duke of Ed?

R: My advice for someone who might be interested in Duke of Ed would be to give it a go, even if you are unsure of doing it or don’t know what to expect, it has been so much fun and a really valuable experience, you learn so many new skills and get so much out of it as well as forming new relationships with peers. It is such a great opportunity to experience new activities (or to continue current activities), discover different parts of our environment and for most of the requirements needed for the Duke of Ed award, you are probably doing anyway, so it doesn’t take much time out of your week to do and complete.

M: I think my main piece of advice would be challenge yourself, especially in the adventurous journeys. Many of the skills and experiences I was able to achieve on these journeys are things I wouldn’t be able to do without the support of the College. So, make the most of all of Duke of Ed, but especially the adventurous journeys.

What have you learnt about yourself and how has your Personal Capacity grown through these experiences?

R: I have learnt that I am capable of achieving whatever I set my mind to, even though I may not necessarily know where one thing leads to, it is the best option to always take any opportunity that comes your way because you benefit and get so much out of it than you may not have necessarily thought of in the beginning.

M: I think the biggest thing I have learnt is my resilience. I have been put in many challenging positions, especially on the adventurous journeys and through my experiences I have been able to push through and apply these things I have learnt to the real world. This experience has really grown my personal capacity and I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to complete my Gold Duke of Edinburgh at St Andrew’s.