SOUTH AUSTRALIA

7NEWS Young Achiever Awards - SA

2022 Winners of the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards - SA

South Australian Young Achiever of the Year Award

Callum MacPherson, 28 of Bowden launched his video podcast “Young Blood – Men’s Mental Health” after losing a close mate to suicide in 2019. Young Blood serves as a public platform for young men from all walks of life to share their stories of lived experience, break the stigma surrounding men’s mental health, encourage help-seeking behaviour and call on men to take responsibility for their health

First National Real Estate Innovation Award

Nicholas Sanderson, 25 of Adelaide graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2018 and founded Splose, practice management software that automates admin for NDIS providers, allowing them to spend more time supporting people with a disability. Splose employs seven people, operating out of Lot Fourteen and is on track to have 10,000 users by mid-2023 with 16 employees

University Senior College Create Change Award

Worldwide Small Business Achiever Award

David Fogarty, 27 of Black Forest started Calming Blankets and The Oodie in 2018. Both brands were self-funded until 2021 and have become successful. David then launched further products and brands under The Davie Group umbrella, which employed nearly 90 full-time employees within Australia in 2021 and has contractors all over the world. During the Black Friday sale, they saw record sales of over $1.5 million

Websters Lawyers Service to the Community Award

Lily Biggs, 24 of Fitzroy and Nikita Trewartha, 26 of Morphetville are co-founders of Salty Sips, a community initiative. They encourage the people of Adelaide to step out of their comfort zone and connect with others. They organise the event every Wednesday morning, which involves a 30-minute yoga flow, followed by jumping in the ocean and ending with a sip of coffee. Roughly 700 individuals gather at the beach every week

Rural Doctors Workforce Agency Rural Health Award

Jose Estevez, 29 of Lightview has performed countless eye examinations throughout his research and volunteer work. He spends several months a year in remote Aboriginal communities providing essential eye care services. During COVID-19 restrictions, he developed a protocol for ‘tele-optometry’, sourced international eyecare equipment and implemented the tele-optometry model for ongoing service delivery. Jose is an Optometrist and Researcher

Scouts SA Leadership Award

Oscar Zi Shao Ong, 24 of Adelaide is the National President of the Council of International Students Australia and President of Adelaide University Union. Oscar had been the Adelaide University’s Student Representative Council President. In the Council for International Education, he supports the implementation of the Australian Strategy for International Education 2021-2030. During the initial Covid-19 outbreak, he partnered with multicultural organisations to initiate a food voucher program.

Department for Innovation and Skills Outstanding Apprentice Award

Matthew Flint, 21 of Queenstown, a recently qualified fitter and has started his second apprenticeship as an electrician during 2021. He works at Coopers Brewery, where he is learning all aspects of machinery and equipment maintenance in a fast-paced production facility. Outside of his trade training, Matthew has earned a high-risk forklift licence, EWP ticket, working at heights and working in a confined space ticket

Department of Human Services Aboriginal Achievement Award

Shaquille Likouresis, is a proud Arrabunna man who loves giving back to his community through his involvement in sports and as a Community Constable with SA Police. As a Community Constable, Shaquille attends events and participates in programs to work with the community and create a positive image for all cultures around. Shaquille recently joined the Australian Defence Force Reserves

Department of Human Services Pride Award

John/ Alex Kelly, 21 of Ridleyton is an autistic, queer and gender fluid youth who has served as the regional secretary for Amnesty International Australia SA/NT. A proud sex worker peer, John/Alex advocates for the decriminalisation of sex work in SA. They currently work as the men’s project worker at South Australian Sex Advocacy Network, where they address a critical intersection of queer and sex worker communities

The University of Adelaide STEM Award

Nicole Foster, 26 of Greenwith completed her PhD in 2021 where she developed a molecular approach to analyse environmental DNA buried in the sediment record, uncovering historical changes that have occurred within coastal plant communities in South Australia. This work informs the adaptability and resilience of these important habitats to climate change. Nicole was also the first Scientist in Residence at St Peter’s Girls School

Carclew Creative Achievement Award

Nathan May, 27 of Rostrevor is a proud Arabana and Yawuru man. A musician, youth mentor who has worked with other artists to perform on Facebook Live and recorded events. He has also written songs for the governments’ wellbeing campaigns to promote health and wellness to the Aboriginal community during the pandemic. Since 2020, Nathan has been helping develop racism prevention programs with Reconciliation SA.

Qoin Career Achievement Award

Emily Cicconi, 25 of Hope Valley studies Bachelor of Business (Human Resource Management) after 4 years working in HR at Telstra. She won the Future Leaders of HR Scholarship and the Club Executive of the Year award. Working as an intern, then an HR Coordinator, and now a Recruitment Specialist at Accenture, her disability aspires her to role model for other young women living with disabilities.

Multicultural Youth South Australia Spirit of Resilience Award

Yeganeh Soltanpour, 21 of Lightsview set up a non-profit organisation that dedicates all its resources towards providing free career advice, CVs and mental wellbeing tools to students from various backgrounds. Yeganeh was 17 when she moved to Adelaide to pursue a degree in Psychology. After high school, she worked for a year and made $50,000 doing odd jobs to fund her travels and living expenses.

Spirit Super Connecting Communities Award

James Beaumont, 19 of Oaklands Park is a Peer Mentor for children and youth with disabilities for the Enabled Youth Disability Network (EYDN), and a Director on their Board. James endured years of family conflict and mental health issues as a child but still chose to assist other struggling young people. James helped petition the state government to abandon the closure of Springbank Secondary College.