It has been a big year of recognition for Emily Davies, 14, who took out the Young Star Achiever of the Year award at the inaugural Moira Shire awards ceremony held on Thursday, April 20.
Emily has been described as a role model for her peers and as a tireless campaigner in the fight to raise raise awareness and funds for the neonatal intensive care unit at Wangaratta.
To raise awareness, the proud Cobram resident established her own fundraising event — Em’s Pedal for Prems — in which she cycled 100km from her home in Cobram to the hospital where she was born prematurely in Wangaratta.
This mammoth achievement helped Emily raise $6000 for her cause.
Emily plays a number of sports and has been involved in various community groups, including parkrun, and is a proud member of the Athletics Victoria State Cross Country Team and the Victorian State Triathlon Team and attends the Victorian Institute of Sport.
Along with physical talent, Emily also has musical ability and during during lockdown played the Last Post on Anzac Day for community members unable to leave their homes.
Her talents have seen Emily receive two scholarships to attend Caulfield Grammar School as a Year 10 boarding student in Melbourne.
She was also awarded a General Excellence Scholarship in Sport in 2022 at Caulfield Grammar, as well as being the youngest member of the school’s Big Band.
Emily said she was grateful for and humbled by her award.
“I feel very, very lucky and very appreciative of the support that I’ve had over the past couple of years. It’s a very, very special honour,” she said.
As for those thinking about volunteering for community organisations, Emily said that it was an amazing experience.
Emily was awarded the Cobram and District Australia Day Junior Award earlier this year.
Speaking after the ceremony, her father, Michael Davies, could not have been prouder.
“To see how far she’s come along from such a challenging start in her life, being born prematurely (at) 32 weeks, so the amount of things that she’s achieved in a short life so far, puts us all to shame really,” he said.
The Courier team congratulates Emily on her achievements.