Our Future is in Safe Hands - Young Citizen of the Year - Chloe Paddick
As Mayor Roslyn Talbot pointed out in Council’s January newsletter, our youth is the future of our region. And luckily for the Copper Coast, people like the 2024 Young Citizen of the Year Award Winner Chloe Paddick will ensure our future is in safe hands.
From a young age, Chloe has appreciated and taken advantage of the opportunities, experiences and sense of community that a country upbringing affords. Growing up on a farm just outside of Wallaroo, Chloe fondly remembers eating fresh peas while sitting down in the family farm, weekends filled with sun and swimming at North Beach and Moonta Beach, spending time on the Murray River and returning to the same Big 4 Caravan Park for the last 18 years.
Encouraged from a young age to develop a “have a go attitude”, Chloe credits her parents and both sets of grandparents for instilling a community-minded attitude.
Chloe attended Harvard Christian School from reception to year nine before completing her schooling at Immanuel College in Adelaide. During her time there, the now 23-year-old spent a lot of her free time learning how to teach swimming and survival skills - skills that are critical when living in a coastal area. She is proud to have been a role model for other young people, inspiring others to give back to communities.
“Some of my former students are now becoming instructors,” Chloe said.
“It’s great to see them continuing on with their swimming and survival skills.”
Chloe splits her time between Adelaide and Wallaroo at the moment. In Adelaide, she is completing a Bachelor of Primary Education (Hons) specialising in German and is employed as a Boarding House Supervisor at Loreto College – providing guidance, advice and motivation to young people. When she comes back home to Wallaroo, the 2024 Young Citizen of the Year works as a School Support Officer at Kadina Primary School and holds swimming and survival skills lessons.
One of Chloe’s favourite memories - and a key part of her nomination - was volunteering for the 2023 Kernewek Lowender festival where she played the role of May Queen: the official ambassador of the festival. Not only did she love learning about the region’s rich Cornish heritage and learning some Cornish language, she enjoyed listening to older volunteers’ stories about the event, its traditions and history. She also enjoyed the reaction she got from students at Kadina Primary School when she came dressed as the May Queen.
“They were so excited to see their May Queen that their faces lit up,” she said.
Reflecting on her nomination and win, Chloe was initially shocked.
However, after taking some time to let it sink in, she can humbly understand why she took home the award.
“I look back and I did do a lot and I continue to do a lot,” she said.
“All your hard work eventually pays off.
“Our future is young citizens and I hope I’ve inspired young citizens to get involved with and become part of the community.”