A KANIVA year 12 student will be one of three Australians to represent the country at an international student leaders conference in Malaysia.
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Sarah Nash, 17, will attend the third Johor International Student Leaders Conference on April 27 and 28.
The conference is an opportunity for secondary school student leaders, aged between 13 and 18, to meet, engage and exchange views, ideas and perspectives on global issues.
Sarah said she was selected through the Country Education Project, which aimed to provide a youth voice on rural education.
"Through this experience I have been a part of a huge range of opportunities, such as being one of four young adults on the Youth Ministers Advisory Board, where I represented the 50,000 Victorian secondary students across the state," she said.
"I was able to present my ideas and rural education experience to 180 highly ranked people within education such as Education Minister Christopher Pine, newly-elected and past Victorian ministers, and also the Victorian and South Australian education boards.
"I was then approached Country Education Project chief executive Phil Brown and asked to apply for the conference.
"They said they wished to sponsor my whole trip because of the way I had represented them in the past.
"My school also assisted with some of the costs."
Sarah said at the conference she would work with the two other Australian students to prepare presentations on their view of global challenges and how Australians can help the change.
"During the introduction evening we have to prepare a skit or play about our home country," she said.
"We've planned to do a dance to 'The Land Down Under'.
"We will be the first country to perform so we're hoping to break the ice well."
Sarah said she was looking forward to the conference.
"Being from a rural community this conference will provide me with the most cultural diverse experience available and it will be such an eye-opener for youth challenges around the world," she said.
"I've always regarded myself as a leader and I'm so privileged to have been selected."
Sarah said the trip would also prepare her for future volunteer work she would do overseas.
"In November for Schoolies I will be doing medical work in Africa with Gap Medics," she said.
"The conference will be a great learning experience about travelling by myself before I head to Africa."
