Order of Australia Awards
By Mrs Louise Wallace-Richards, Acting Deputy Principal, Head of Secondary School
In my previous Bulletin article I wrote about the recognition our Year 12 students were to receive following their successful nominations for the 2025 Order of Australia Association ACT Branch Student Citizenship Awards.
At the awards ceremony last Wednesday night at the Royal Canberra Golf Club at Yarralumla, the Governor-General, Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC presented Amber and Lachlan, our current College Captains, with Certificates of Commendation for Excellence in Leadership and Achievement. Emily and Emma jointly received Certificates of Commendation for their Sustained Community Service and Citizenship, and Thomas received a medallion and certificate for his Individual Sustained Community Service and Citizenship. Radford College also received a plaque for Promoting Excellence in Citizenship and Achievement.
Our Junior School Radford Student Council (RSC) were also recognised at the Student Citizenship Awards. Please read the article by Ms Karen Mahar, Acting Deputy Principal, Head of Junior School in this edition of the Bulletin for more about this wonderful achievement.
To nominate the Secondary School students for Student Citizenship Awards, I sought input from the students themselves as well as a range of Radford College staff including our Principal, Mr Christopher Bradbury, leader of the media crew, Mr Tim Minehan, Director of Service Learning, Ms Kath Notley, Senior Chaplain, Reverend Dr Katherine Rainger, and Associate Chaplain, Reverend Andy Fleming.
Please read the edited extracts from their citations below that led to them winning their awards. To read a student's full citation, please click on the student's name.
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Amber Smith is an outstanding student leader at Radford College who has demonstrated leadership of initiatives that have benefitted the school and others. Leading with humility and a strong sense of purpose, Amber is the rarity in our society: high academic achievement combined with maturity, high emotional intelligence and dedication to working to make the lives of others better.
Leadership has been an integral part of Amber’s school life at Radford College. As College Captain, Amber has led with integrity, commitment and a strong sense of purpose. She is an exemplary role model to all students in the College, upholding and promoting high expectations in the student body around respectful rapport, and consistently demonstrating kindness, fairness and empathy in her interactions with peers and staff.
Amber has modelled the importance of setting and working towards personal goals, encouraging others to strive for their best in all areas of school life. Through her inclusive leadership, she has created a sense of belonging and unity across the student body, ensuring all students feel heard and valued.
With her senior studies, leadership of the College and service involvement Amber has still found time to achieve excellence in co-curricular activities. She is an excellent flautist, an outstanding cricketer, and participated in Oztag and rowing. She also represented the College at both regional and national level in snowsports.
Lachlan Lloyd is an exceptional student leader at Radford College whose initiatives have benefitted the school and others. Throughout his 14 years at Radford College, leadership has been an integral part of his life. In Year 2 he started his own fundraiser for the Fred Hollows Foundation. In Year 3, he joined the Radford Tribal Council (now the Radford School Council) and by Year 6, he was chosen as Master of Ceremonies for the Junior School Awards event. In Year 11 he was chosen to be a House Vice-Captain for Karri and selected as an ambassador for the College on a Round Square exchange to Aiglon College in Switzerland. This year, his final year at Radford, he was awarded the role of College Captain.
To date this year, Lachlan has completed over 120 verified service hours in areas including co-curricular at the College, mental health and fundraising. He exemplifies the qualities of being an outstanding Australian citizen with his dedication to respect and equality for all, helping others and showing compassion for those in need.
In attending Junior School carnivals and Year 3, 5 and 7 camps to assist staff, Lachlan has enabled those students who may have struggled with the demands of the events to have a peer by their side to encourage them to achieve their best. In participating in Relay for Life and World’s Greatest Shave, Lachlan has donated many hours of his own time to raise money for cancer research in Australia. Lachlan also donates blood/plasma and volunteers at a dialysis clinic in Garran, not for recognition but because he is passionate about improving hospital and national infrastructure systems.
With an actuarial and software engineering degree, Lachlan hopes to move into a statistics, or the computational heavy area of software. 'An area that interests me specifically is developing systems for hospital management,' he says.
Emily Passlow and Emma Osborne-Laverty individually and together have worked tirelessly on several projects to benefit Radford College students and the wider community. In particular, they have contributed to the sustainability of community resources through their leading of initiatives that have promoted environmental responsibility and resource conservation within the school and in doing so have demonstrated outstanding Australian citizenship.
Emily and Emma are dedicated to building community and enhancing the lives of those within the Radford College and Canberra communities. They are thoughtful, resilient and considerate individuals, well regarded by staff and students.
One of the initiatives Emily and Emma have led is in ensuring equitable access to essential hygiene products in the College. Through this initiative of introducing a free period product scheme they have demonstrated leadership, empathy and essential project management skills. Their dedication not only supports the wellbeing and dignity of their peers but also raises awareness about the importance of removing barriers to participation and learning. Their efforts are a powerful example of student-led action making a meaningful impact in the school community.
As Sustainability Captains of the College, Emma and Emily have led efforts to promote sustainability and responsible waste management within the College community. They have actively raised awareness about the importance of positive habits, such as taking responsibility for one’s own rubbish and correctly sorting waste into appropriate bins. Their leadership has fostered a greater sense of collective responsibility and environmental stewardship among students, contributing to a cleaner, more sustainable campus.
Emma and Emily have been members of Radford Awareness and Service (RAS), a group which raises money for organisations and run events to positively enhance students’ experience at school. Emily has volunteered for many charitable initiatives including the Anglican Schools Embracing Ministries holiday program, Lifeline Bookfair and at the Migrant and Refugee Settlement Homework Help Program. She is an outstanding Australian citizen as evidenced by her serving as a cadet at ANZAC and Remembrance Day ceremonies.
Emma has also been involved in many initiatives to improve the lives of others including as RAS and Service Captain in 2025, organising bake sales and competitions to support the RSPCA. She has engaged in Radford’s Calvary Connections service program, providing regular companionship and assistance to elderly community members. She was also involved in the Eden Canoes project in December 2024, collaborating with indigenous communities to promote cultural understanding. Emma has even been recognised by the Australian Marine Conservation Society with a certificate for her impactful CAS IBDP project work.
Thomas Liu has significantly and consistently shown leadership that has benefited Radford College, as well as demonstrating concern for others in the community.
With quiet grace and commitment, Thomas has fostered a culture of inclusion and belonging within the Radford College community. Thomas' work over the past few years has had a positive impact on the school’s inclusion policy and approaches, and the legacy of their work will continue to be built upon by generations of Radford students. Further to this, Thomas has built an inclusive society at Radford, showing the ability to lead with kindness and create safe spaces without seeking recognition, ensuring every student feels seen and valued.
This year, as Captain of the media crew, Thomas has given many hours of their time after school and on weekends to provide media support for Radford College celebrations, assemblies, music and performing arts events in the form of live camera projection, event recording and audio-visual support. Currently they are sharing their knowledge and leadership with the younger students and guiding them in developing their media crew skills.
Thomas’ concern for others in the community has extended to senior citizens at Calvary Haydon Aged Care and Retirement Living in Belconnen. His involvement in multiple visits to Calvary to provide music entertainment and time to chat with the residents shows Thomas' dedication to sharing their time with all groups in our community.
Congratulations Amber, Lachlan, Emma, Emily and Thomas! You exemplify what it means to be a true Radfordian.