St George Illawarra Dragons duo George Rose and Trent Merrin were both part of the NRL All Stars Indigenous Youth Summit held on the Gold Coast on Wednesday.
The Dragons duo were joined by their peers to teach valuable life sklls to sixty Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Maori students from both Australia and New Zealand.
The Youth Summit, now in its fourth year, is part of the NRL All Stars week with students previously arriving earlier in the week to participate in workshops that enhance skills and knowledge in the following three areas; Cultural knowledge; Success at school; Success post school.
The Year 11, Australian, and Year 12, New Zealand students, which feature representatives from the Illawarra and South Coast regions, were selected from a group of over 10,000 who are currently participating in NRL Club Community Programs.
Highlights of their week will included cultural sessions with both the Indigenous and NRL All Stars squads, participation in a 'job application' workshop, vying for the title of All Stars Youth Ambassador and attending a session at Griffith University, where they both explored tertiary study options and met a number of current Indigenous university students.
“The Youth Summit brings together students from all walks of life," said NRL Head of One Community Adam Check.
“This is a great opportunity for the group to get to know their peers from other areas across Australia and New Zealand and to learn from our Indigenous and NRL All Stars players and coaches as well as program mentors and their own peers.
“All workshops are hands on and interactive, ensuring a fun and engaging method for learning such important concepts and they are skills which they can continue to develop as they enter the final stages of their schooling and tertiary education.”
