Our senior student leaders have joined more than 700 students at Australia’s largest International Women’s Day breakfast for an inspiring morning of leadership.

It was an early start for our senior female student leaders this morning, with College Captain Jade Ellis and Deputy College Captains Rebecca Evans and Billie Liapis representing the college at Australia’s largest celebration of International Women’s Day.

Held at the Adelaide Convention Centre, the Adelaide International Women’s Day Breakfast brought together more than 700 students from 46 South Australian schools to reflect on this year’s theme: Balance the Scales.

The highlight of the morning was an inspiring keynote from Katherine Bennell-Pegg — the first astronaut to officially represent Australia. A director at the Australian Space Agency and reservist Group Captain in the Royal Australian Air Force, Katherine has qualified to represent Australia on missions to the International Space Station and the Moon.

Her journey to space began with a dream. At just 13 years old, Katherine and her classmates were asked to write down their top three career choices. While others filled their lists, Katherine wrote just one: astronaut.

Soon after, she had the opportunity to visit NASA. During her presentation, she shared a photo of her 13-year-old self from that visit — a powerful reminder to the students in the room that if you can dream it, you can achieve it.

Katherine’s message was both inspiring and practical. She spoke about the importance of representation in science and exploration, reminding the audience that while women have been travelling to space for more than 60 years, there is still a long way to go to achieve full representation in STEM fields.

Too much talent, she said, is still being left on the launchpad. By drawing on the full talent of humanity, the possibilities for discovery and innovation are limitless.

Perhaps, she suggested, someone sitting in a classroom today will one day become the first person to walk on Mars.

The morning concluded with the powerful anthem 'Unstoppable' by Sia — a fitting soundtrack for a room filled with the next generation of women ready to lead, innovate and shape the future.

The college is very proud of Jade, Rebecca and Billie for representing our community at such an inspiring event and bringing these powerful messages of leadership and possibility back to campus.