05 Nov 2019
By Micah Papalii-Talanai
My name is Micah Papalii-Talanai and I am the immediate past school captain for Punchbowl Boys’ High School. As a student whose family has never had much money, I learned early in life to never take anything for granted.
From an early age, I was taught to view challenges and responsibilities as golden opportunities. Time and again, I have used these lessons as motivation to welcome every challenge life has thrown at me. These lessons have stayed with me as I bounced back after every failure to finally lead our school’s band, “320”, to the YouthRock title with our musical talent after three attempts.
As captain of the Punchbowl Pioneers, I was able to successfully use my extensive leadership experience to successfully lead my teams to three grand final appearances in both zone and regional basketball and volleyball tournaments. As a representative for Sydney South West, and Bankstown Zone, I used the gift of gratitude and resilience I received from my family in every event I have had the pleasure of competing in, including, shot put, javelin, discus, and sprinting. I have successfully used debating to improve my critical thinking, collaborative, and communication skills on the road leading our team to a top-3 finish in the region for the first time in decades.
Over the years, I have also proudly represented my school in some of Australia’s most prestigious venues such as Sydney Cricket Ground, Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Opera House, and International Convention Centre in events such as Schools Spectacular, Our Spectacular, and TEDxSydney. I am the first-ever person in my family to graduate from high school - my greatest achievement to date. Now, I want to be the first in my family to pursue tertiary studies.
I have two siblings, countless cousins, and hundreds of little brothers at Punchbowl Boys’ High School looking to me as a beacon of hope. I want to show them that, with tertiary education, we can lift ourselves above the disadvantages that are constantly been attached to our community.