ON JANUARY 26, Bathurst resident Holly Davis is set to give a talk at the city’s Australia Day celebrations.
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This chance has come after she was named the Jack Aubin Young Citizen of the Year at a function held at the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre in December, where she received the honour alongside Bathurst Citizen of the Year Genevieve Croaker.
The Charles Sturt University student said it was an “amazing” feeling to receive the honour.
“I wasn’t really expecting it,” Ms Davis said.
“When I heard they called my name, I thought ‘did they say that right?’.
“I was really shocked but really excited. I never thought I’d get it.”
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Ms Davis is a born and bred Bathurstian, attending Eglinton Public School in her primary school days before moving to Bathurst High Campus for her secondary education.
And she may have only finished her first year out of school in 2018, but Ms Davis has already racked up a pretty impressive list of achievements.
She’s volunteered for Meals on Wheels, worked on the Bathurst Youth Council, was vice-captain at Bathurst High, served on the Student Representative Council, volunteered for the bushfire appeal and has volunteered for various cancer fundraisers.
She said her reason for volunteering can be traced to her parents.
“I like to give back. My parents always told me to give back in ways people have given to me,” she said.
I like to give back. My parents always told me to give back in ways people have given to me.
- Holly Davis on her volunteering
“I thought I’d do it through volunteering.
“I did the bushfire appeal because they saved my house in 2008. Giving back to that was really rewarding.”
Ms Davis spent two years on the Bathurst Youth Council, in 2016 and 2017, when she was in year 11 and 12 respectively.
She was the secretary and said it was an interesting experience, saying it was one of her best volunteer roles.
“Being on the Bathurst Youth Council, I got to see everything that was happening in Bathurst, not just at my school,” she said.
“Through the youth council, I did a lot of volunteering and fundraising in Bathurst, which was really rewarding.
“As a secretary, I took minutes down, put my input into meetings and stuff like that.”
Her decision to volunteer for cancer fundraisers was due to Ms Davis’ grandmother having cancer.
“It was really rewarding to give back in that area,” she said.
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She’s now focused on her studies at Charles Sturt University.
In 2018, she was doing a degree in communications, before switching to nursing.
“Caring for people is the main reason I wanted to do nursing,” she said.
“I just want to make everyone’s lives a bit better.
“I know how hard it can be to be stuck in a hospital bed. Stuff like that happens, but being a nurse means you can make someone’s life a bit better.”
Ms Davis said her speech on Australia Day will focus on her saying thank you.
“I get to choose what I want to talk about. I’m just saying thank you to my community,” she said.
