At the Broome Golf Club, 12 new St. Mary’s College students stood before staff, family, and sponsors, pledging their commitment to the Rio Tinto Follow the Dream program. This transformative initiative empowers Indigenous youth to achieve their educational dreams.
St. Mary’s College, Rio Tinto, and the Polly Farmer Foundation collaborated to create an environment where students thrive academically and personally. This partnership exemplifies the shared commitment to nurturing young minds and fostering success.
On the evening of the Compactus Event Broome Senior and St Mary’s College community were brought together through the partnership to celebrate the new students and their pathway to student success.
Guest speakers included Joe Bin Omar, a Follow the Dream alumni, who shared his journey from student to success within the Follow the Dream Program. Ms. Nerrida Hillier, representing Rio Tinto, emphasised the company’s dedication to supporting Indigenous education. Dave Wilkinson, Program Manager of the Polly Farmer Foundation, spoke passionately about mentorship.
The students enjoyed an exhilarating “amazing race” to complete their Compactus contract which had some challenging brain busters that had families and mentors scratching their heads to help solve. Laughter, camaraderie, and purpose-filled the air and the activities were followed up with a delicious dinner courtesy of DMK.
Tim Gray from Broome Senior and Zoe Court orchestrated this memorable event, and it was great to see the two schools come together to share in the commitment to success of our young Kimberley people.
With support from St. Mary’s College, Rio Tinto, and the Polly Farmer Foundation, these students are poised to achieve their dreams. Whether pursuing university degrees, vocational training, or meaningful employment, they embody resilience, determination, and hope.
We celebrate these students and look forward to witnessing their remarkable achievements in the days and years to come. We are so proud of them all and extremely grateful to our parents and families as partners, Polly Farmer Foundation, along with Waalitj Deadly Sista Girlz, Clontarf Academy and Broome Residential College for their support. Our staff were there to support this incredible event, led by our Director Academic Extension and Learning Innovation, Ms Zoe Court. We are grateful to you all.
