My name is Siobhan Kellaghan-Tasker and I graduated in the class of 2018. Towards the end of my schooling in 2016, I suffered a significant health issue which left me visually impaired overnight. My health issues are ongoing, and since leaving Brighton, I have focused my efforts on learning how best to promote the wellbeing of marginalised and disadvantaged young people.
I lived in Darwin for six months where I volunteered at both a school in Darwin city and Arnhem land, working with the more disengaged students. As a result of managing my health issues, song writing became my outlet to let others know what I was going through. I now study Music at Australian College of the Arts and write lyrics on topics such as mental and physical illness in attempt to make people going through these things feel heard. My partner Liam and I have a music duo called ‘Anne Reece’ where we have been writing a releasing music. We performed an original at the Mindful Aus. 2019 Mental Health Gala and performed at a bushfire fundraiser earlier this year.
I volunteer at youth development programs such as Green Super Camp Australia and with a mentor and two other incredible women am on the development team for a project aimed at empowering young girls to make them feel heard and understood. I have spoken on the panel of a youth leadership conference where we discussed the education system and what young people can do to ensure they make the most of their experience and feel empowered to think outside the box as far as leadership and their potential.
I am incredibly fortunate for the opportunities I have had and wouldn’t be where I am or where I’m going without the support of my teachers through my schooling.
