Luke Payne - College Captain's Report at end of year prize-giving.

Good evening, I extend a warm welcome to all staff, guests, families, friends and of course all St Thomas students here tonight. It is an honour to be with you following in the footsteps of past St Thomas college captains.

I would firstly like to thank the leadership team and all of the year 13 graduates of 2016. As a leadership team we focused thoroughly on our legacy at St Thomas. We worked hard to turn our ideas into reality. One significant example is our Saint Thomas supporters group. This is a Facebook page set up by various leaders. It focuses on supporting ours schools groups and teams, posting results and informing students on what is going on around the school. This idea is not just a Facebook page but an ongoing method to bring pride and a sense of brotherhood into the college. What we started this year I hope is just the beginning and next year’s leaders can expand on what we started. This is only one example of what excellent initiatives the years 13’s added to St Thomas.

Many of our year 13’s have truly shown the St Thomas values this year. They have been advocates for those less fortunate or facing barriers in their lives. This year with all of your support we have raised over $25,000 for numerous charities. This includes over $10,000 from “shave for cure”. An outstanding effort. “For it is actions that truly show who we are.” and your actions have proved this.

I would like to thank all of the staff at the college for the tireless effort they have put in to educating, coaching, and giving us many opportunities to succeed. You all display the values promoted by our principle Mrs O’Neill and positively impact on the lives your students. Words cannot describe how much gratitude we have for the work you do. Without this commitment our grades and education would suffer and our quality of life and learning would fail.

To all students here tonight, I would like to thank you all for the effort you have put in to this year. Your participation in various activities and just being part of the spirit of college was outstanding. I wish you the best for the rest of your school journey. If you need any help in future years, we are all here and have been through the same if you need a hand. To the seniors of next year I ask you not to be selfish but a leader for others as I know you can be. Do not give up on your idea. Work to improve the college as it is your turn to do this. You have the opportunity to inspire, assist and lead.

“Be a somebody who makes everybody else feel like a somebody”, this quote not only sums up what I strive to be but what St Thomas of Canterbury college teaches. Every day we walk through the entrance we grow into a St Thomas man with an educated mind and educated heart. Looking at my fellow graduates beside me today I can say without doubt that all of you have grown into a somebody. This is the end of the St Thomas journey. Fellow graduates, this is last time we all sit together as a brotherhood. Remember this, if you ever fall on your journey in the future or find yourself in a dark place, I can be a shoulder to lean on. I wish you the very best on your journey and I know we will all be in contact throughout our future endeavours.

I am not the most humorous or dramatic speaker here. I may not make you laugh nor bring a tear to your eye. I do not have a soothing and powerful voice like Morgan Freeman, but I challenge you not to look down at your phone or get distracted but to listen.

People ask me “Luke what makes a good leader, what advice can you give me” I believe a good leader is positive in their own life. There are three principles that have not only helped me this year but has improved my confidence and how I feel every day.

One do not let others determine the way you think feel and live. “But Luke I would never do that, I’m an individual and think for myself” Well I personally struggle with this one. I seem to get caught up trying to please others and look acceptable. The clothes we wear, the things we say about others show that we are constantly looking for approval. Many things I did and said came down to fear. Fear of stepping out, fear of embarrassment and fear of being judged. Hearing what many people say behind others backs at times is toxic so I understand and feel this fear.

Two, do your best in all you do. We live in a world of technology. Cell Phones have become an easy form of communication, removing actual human interaction. Thumbs are the modern voice. Our devices can be a positive communication method to achieve success. They have become a distraction from living our actual lives. When it comes down to it our memories are mainly from those times we share face to face. I know I will remember speaking in front of you and my experiences at St Thomas a lot longer than the last episode of prison break or that humorous meme on Facebook. I know personally and with many of my peer’s technology has become a way to procrastinate and impede success.

The final principle is to do all you can to get along with your peers and other people you come in contact with. This is easily to me the most important principle to me. I love keeping connections with others and having close friendships. I ask you to think back to that last time you made an inappropriate joke, got angry at someone or just have had or created a broken relationship. Why does this happen? You see race, sexual identity, gender or religion does not separate us. Our egos, self-centredness and mind-set on our “differences” does. We can get so caught up in arguments trying to be better than one another rather than focusing on improving ourselves through the strengths of others.

I ask that if you have a problem with stepping out of the crowd, don’t be embarrassed to be who you are. I ask that if you have problems concentrating and not giving something your best shot to put down your device and focus on what you really want to achieve. Finally I ask that you go off from here and look to repair a broken relationship whether it was of your doing or not. If even one person can go and achieve one of these things I would consider what I have said to be successful.

Why are these principles important to me? Well they are my weaknesses, they are what I struggle with daily. I believe by constantly trying to follow these three principles I can help improve my own beliefs and values. Where there are so many problems to solve and questions that only leads to more questions in this world, there must be some greater reason for me standing up here and speaking to you all tonight. If I can do what I can to make myself better, I may be able to impact and help the lives of others, it must be a step in the right direction. Thank you.

Luke Payne