St Brigid’s College year 11 student Darcy Hogan isn’t afraid to stand up for the underdog to make sure people are being treated kindly. 

This week he received a Courage to Care local hero award.

Courage to Care is a travelling educational exhibition, which visited the region this month and ran sessions with Wimmera high school students.

Darcy said he was nominated for the award by teachers at his school.

“The company that gave me the award, Courage to Care, is all about encouraging people to be up-standers, not bystanders,” he said.

“They talk a lot about the Holocaust and how people let it happen, but that message is reflected back in how people help each other out in everyday life.”

In primary school, Darcy was among the one in six Australian students who was bullied.

He said he now always tried to look out for other people at school and be nice to them.

He said it wasn’t hard to have a conversation with someone and it could make a big difference.

“There was a girl I went through primary school with who has Downs syndrome and I took her under my wing to make sure she was never picked on,” he said.

“I think it’s really important to look out for others – if someone is having a hard time, just having a chat with them can make a massive difference.”

Darcy encouraged other people to be supportive of others.

“It’s something we all need to do,” he said.

Darcy said bullying was a problem in many Wimmera schools, but he felt like students were now more willing to talk about it.

“Bullying is definitely still happening, especially cyber bullying these days, so it isn’t seen by others as much,” he said.

“But there are a lot more resources available to students now and people are more willing to talk about it, so the problem is getting better.”

Darcy said he was pleased to receive the award, but didn’t think he had done anything to deserve it.

“The award is for ordinary people that do extraordinary things,” he said.

‘However, I don’t feel like I’ve done anything extraordinary – I’m just doing ordinary things that can make other people feel good.

“I was very honoured to receive the award though, it was a nice surprise.”

St Brigid’s College principal Peter Gutteridge said Darcy was never afraid to speak his heart.

“He will intervene when he sees someone else being treated unkindly,” he said.