When I first joined SADD, at Roncalli College, I wasn’t really focused too much on becoming a leader at the time. At the time my main goal was to be able to spread awareness within my community.

As a driver myself I have seen some of the dangerous driving on the roads around and in Timaru, and I wanted to bring awareness to this. I hoped to show people that even though we live in a small town, it is not always safe on the road and that we should always be prepared for anything.

I have noticed that these drivers are of all ages, and that we shouldn’t assume that the roads are safe, because an older person may be driving a car, in fact the majority of dangerous drivers I have seen are older people, but also people around my age. By bringing awareness to everyone I hope that they are able to take the time to think about their driving habits. To think if all of the actions they are taking on the road are safe for themselves and for others around them. Hopefully by doing this, they can grow and adapt.

I first saw the opportunity to become a leader within the SADD community through social media, mainly Instagram. At first I was comprehensive about applying, but after talking it through with my family and friends, I had decided I would go for it.

Throughout the application process I had to fill out a form on why I wanted to become a leader, but also to identify problems on the road within the community and explain how I would fix them. Not only did you have to fill out an application form, but you also had to make a short video, explaining who you are and showing everyone at SADD what life is like for you and what you love to do, along with what you may even want to do when you're older. But we also had to have someone who would represent us, I had asked Mrs McEwen to be mine, as she was the teacher in charge of SADD at Roncalli, but also because she was my maths teacher, so she had a good idea of who I was as a person, I was very lucky to have her as my representative.

One of the main reasons why I decided to become a leader of SADD was the realisation that not only could I bring knowledge of dangerous driving in my small town but in other small towns to big cities. But also going more in depth with this and trying to find solutions to the problems of dangerous driving all around. When I had applied for the leadership position I had applied for both regional leader and national, as I was unsure at the time which one to do. Then I got an email, saying that I had made it into the next round of the application process. I was really ecstatic but also really nervous, as I now had to do a zoom meeting. I had met up with one of the SADD mentors/leaders Sandra and we went over my answers in my application form in more depth, but also got to know each other, as a way to know if I would be a good fit for a SADD leadership position.

About a few weeks later, I got a phone call from Sandra telling me that I have been accepted and chosen as one of the leaders, it was at this point that she proceeded to ask me what position I would like to take on, once again I was unsure so she left me for a day to decide with my parents what choice would be the best for me. After talking it through with my parents, we got a call the next day from Sandra again, and it was at this point that I had decided to take on the role of national leader.

The next step of being a national leader was to go through an initiation of sorts, where I was sent information and emails on how to be a national leader. Being a national leader for SADD will gain me support for both year 12 and 13 and for a little bit onwards after school,this is something that I am extremely thankful for. The next step for me as a leader would be going on a trip to Christchurch to meet up with all the other SADD national leaders and mentors, to grow and develop our skills. I am looking forward to meeting all of the other mentors and leaders, and growing my skills but also learning all about the different topics that we will be learning about.

But as I wait for this trip to come up, the Roncalli college SADD group alongside Mrs McEwen has really been focusing in on safer September and has been trying to do something each week of September, I am really looking forward to this activity but also to take photos and help promote this activity across SADD social medias. But overall I am very honoured to be a SADD leader, and am looking forward to helping bring awareness all over New Zealand but also growing in my knowledge. I am also looking forward to helping the community I live in grow and build relationships and connections with everyone.