Arabella Llewelyn, 2022 Environment Captain and Student Executive

How do you feel about the year ahead?
I cannot wait to be a part of the Student Executive this year. I am truly honoured to have been chosen for this position. I cannot wait to see what 2022 has to offer for all of St Catherine’s, especially as we start to get back to normal and begin to adjust back into our old routine as Senior School students.

What do you hope to accomplish in your dual roles as Student Executive member and Environment Captain this year?

As Environment Captain for 2022, I hope to make St Catherine’s as sustainable as possible by introducing new and innovative ways of operating as a School. I would also like to increase the degree of sustainability St Catherine’s students, teachers and community members go about their lives.

In my role on the 2022 Student Executive, I want to become a big sister to all of the students and someone that anyone in the St Catherine’s community can feel comfortable to speak to me about anything.

How did you become interested in a student leadership role?
During the recent impacts on everyone’s personal lives due to COVID, I’ve seen how our School leaders have had such a profound and positive impact on the students. This motivated me to become one of those people who will hopefully have a similar impact.

Also, the environment and sustainability in general, are a true passion of mine. After going to Environment Club and hearing about the endless opportunities that we can employ in order to improve our carbon footprint as a School, it made me really excited to be a part of that change.

What are the key responsibilities of your captaincy role? 

Being a good listener to what the students would like to see the School incorporate and ensuring that everyone feels included and considered.

A key responsibility as Environment Captain is to ensure that all the St Catherine’s community understands what it is to be sustainable, how to be sustainable and what impacts we as a School community are having on the environment and our future.

Through being able to explain these impacts to the community, it will be easier to implement the changes I have planned in order to improve our impact on the environment, and improve the prospect of our futures on Earth.

Do you think COVID, and the last two years of Learn@Home will influence your leadership role this year? 

COVID has influenced me to go about my leadership role in a more personal manner, trying to get to know as many girls as possible so that if we ever do go through such strange circumstances again, there will be a friendly face prepared to welcome and provide a sense of comfort in returning to School.

In terms of the environment, COVID has had a positive and negative impact. The natural world was given a chance to recuperate and take a breath, allowing for the animals to retreat to their old habitats that have been able to grow and flourish as there is reduced tourism, for example.

However, single-use masks are proving to be a difficult obstacle for the world to let go of, and are extremely damaging to the environment, increasing our waste and polluting our waterways. By seeing the impacts that COVID has had on our environment has sparked my passion even more and driven me to pursue this role so that I can play my part in improving the sustainability of the School.

What is one word that best describes the kind of leader you would like to be? 

Considerate – of the environment and the School

Describe the most enjoyable aspect of being part of St Catherine’s Co-curricular activities? 

The most enjoyable aspect of being part of St Catherine’s School is the tiny yet mighty size, and the kindness of the students.

Being involved in the Environment Club is enjoyable because I am able to speak with like-minded people who have similar interests and concerns as me. It makes the daunting issues of climate change and global warming seem less scary when you have more people prepared to tackle the issues by your side.

What is one quality a good leader needs to have? 

The ability to consider all options that are presented to you.

I hope during my time as Environment Captain I will have a large number of students present at Environment Club, bursting with ideas on how we can improve the sustainability of the School, and by extension, the environment. This will require me to ensure all ideas are heard and considered, to encourage the ideas to continue.

What is one thing you would like to take from the experience of being a Captain once you graduate from St Catherine’s School in 2022? 

I would love to be able to leave the Heyington Gates with the knowledge that I have improved the sustainability of St Catherine’s School, and broadened the community’s knowledge on the topic of the health of our Earth.

I would love to have inspired the younger Year levels to continue to maintain the work I have undertaken, to keep St Catherine’s an eco-friendly School for years to come.