The Sharks sent four local students from the School to Work (S2W) program to the 2021 Indigenous Youth Summit, where they participated in cultural and educational workshops in addition to a number of other activities.
Shalita Brennan, Imagen Bursill, Josh Munro and Anthony Karam represented the Sharks where they joined 60 others at the four-day summit, which traditionally aligns with NRL Indigenous All-stars weekend but due to COVID was held during the recent NRL Indigenous round.
Held at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern, the camp is facilitated by Miri Miri and the NRL S2W team.
The students participated in cultural workshops and art sessions, an 'amazing race' around Sydney and a visit to University of NSW to participate in a range of education workshops.
Their week concluded with the group attending the Wests Tigers and St George Illawarra game at Bankwest stadium.
The 64 students at the summit represented 11 different NRL clubs and their S2W programs.
The Sharks S2W Project Officer Tayla Kafoa had no doubt the camp was a worthwhile experience for all concerned.
“All four students came back from the camp more connected to themselves, their culture and made lifelong friends,” Kafoa said.
S2W is an education and employment program that utilises the positive profile of the game of Rugby League to support and encourage young Indigenous Australians to complete their schooling and successfully transition into further education or employment.
S2W provides young Indigenous Australians with work experience, mentoring and leadership opportunities that lead to a successful outcome.
The S2W Program is backed by NRL players, Clubs, staff, community, government and business supporters.
