Perth College Year 12 student Samantha Hackman has won the 2018 ZONTA Club of Perth Northern Suburbs' $1,000 Young Women in Public Affairs Award. A cheque and certificate were presented at a dinner at Ambrose Estate Wembley on 5 September.

Kott Gunning has been a Gold Sponsor of the Awards since 2012.

"ZONTA's mission of empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy, is something we strongly believe in. Our firm, likewise, strives to empower all our team members to achieve their full potential.

We encourage the pursuit of excellence, and regularly contribute towards prizes and awards to recognise individual achievements. We feel this particular Award is really worthwhile in encouraging our women leaders of the future." said partner Emma Leys.

About the Young Women in Public Affairs Award

The Award was started by ZONTA International in 1990 to recognise young women for their –

  • Commitment to volunteerism;
  • Volunteer leadership achievements; and
  • Dedication to the advancement of the status of women.

Since that time 888 awards have been given to 756 young women representing 56 countries. These young women will be tomorrow's policy-makers and world leaders.

Samantha Hackman wins the Award

Samantha has already shown great leadership, educating and assisting her peers about mental health. She believes mental health should be treated as a comma and not a full-stop as life should go on with time, support and treatment.

On the world stage she is a member of the United Nations' Youth West Australia and has been selected to represent this State in Adelaide.

Samantha believes that women should look out for each other. She added, "Women are bombarded by social media with societal expectations. Women need to lead by example and not worry about 'fitting in' or 'how they look'. Our priority should be integrity of character and what one stands for".

In her ideal world Samantha would like to volunteer her services to the developing world to help advance sustainable agriculture. She would like to complete a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Political Sciences, International Relations and Agricultural Sciences.

Zonta International is a leading global organisation of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy.