Alumnae Recognise Amelie’s Work for Others

At just 17, Amelie Atkin (Year 11) has a substantial six-page CV. Almost every entry tells a story about her commitment to improve conditions for as many people as she can. It is a spirit of contribution that earned her the Alumnae Spirit Award at the 2022 Foundation Day, for services to the School and the external community. “My only regret is that I did not begin sooner,” Amelie says, with characteristic self-depreciation.

The Pride Alliance Club in Year 9, was her first experience of ‘beyond the classroom’ activities. “It opened my eyes to what I could achieve and the benefits of working towards a cause bigger than myself and snowballed from there. As I uncovered further personal interests and ways to help, I signed myself up to more and more.” Now for Amelie, it seems every waking moment is dedicated to a service activity or academic work, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Some of her contributions take the form of paid roles. She is employed by NSW Health on a three-year contract as a Youth Health Promotion consultant, organising and facilitating workshops and events and providing feedback for audits to healthcare agencies. As a One Girl Ambassador, Amelie coordinates fundraising efforts towards educational scholarships for young women in Uganda and Sierra Leone.

In 2021, Amelie initiated The Admissions Project, to advocate for increased preventative health care within the public system.

This involved researching and advocating against outdated admissions criteria for inpatient eating disorder treatment, which she says resulted in the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital changing its admissions criteria.

For the Butterfly Collective, she raises awareness for the struggles of people with eating disorders. Consulting for the organisation Eating Disorder Media, which is associated with the National Mental Health Commission, she also writes blogs and inspiring quotes based on her personal experiences. In addition, the NSW Ethics Centre Moral Courage Group benefits from Amelie’s ability to share her knowledge and personal experience through discussions surrounding mental health.

Within School, she has tutored girls in preparation for challenging Mathematics and Science competitions. As a member of the Upper School Advisory Team, she collaborated with teaching staff and students on projects to help build more cohesion in the Upper School. She also participated in the Mock Trial and Amnesty’s Write for Rights campaign, as well as being a member of the Wenona Production Crew.

Amelie has supported efforts to fight institutionalised racism, child hunger and climate change by fundraising through World Vision’s Walk the Talkathon and the 40-Hour Famine and helped organise climate marches of up to 10,000 people. Volunteering for Our Big Kitchen Bondi and writing letters to the elderly in nursing homes, to help “solve inequalities in society with small actions,” are further examples of her service efforts.

But perhaps the cause still dearest to her heart is the Pride Alliance Club, for which Amelie now serves as President. “I love organising engaging workshops on topics relevant to LGBTQ+ and finding ways to cater to and support the needs of students across year groups and social backgrounds,” she says.

Alongside her many academic and co-curricular School awards, Mimi has a new achievement. During the northern hemispere summer, she studied Psychology at Oxford University through their Summer in Oxford Program. It is another highlight on her CV to support her journey towards working in the mental health sphere.

According to Wenona Alumnae President Luisa Horton (Brown, 2005), Amelie’s is definitely a contribution worth celebrating. “She is a very worthy recipient of the 2022 Wenona Alumnae Spirit Award. On behalf of the Wenona Alumnae Association and everyone at Wenona, I’d like to congratulate her on her action to support young people both at Wenona and across Australia and her passion for raising awareness about important issues. Amelie sets a remarkable example to us all for making a positive difference in the world.”