Student Profile | Shakaila Gardiner-Dunn
“Footy is what I want to do in my future, and I knew that SEDA would be a good school to support me with my journey”
Year 11 student Shakaila speaks about her previous struggles of balancing her passion for AFL and completing her studies at mainstream school. Shakila started playing AFL when she was 11 years old and fell in love with it, she quickly realised she wanted to play AFL professionally and aims to play in the AFLW after graduating. Shakila enrolled into Year 11 at the start of 2024.
Read more from her interview below:
Can you describe a memorable moment where you felt SEDA truly embraced and supported your passion for sports?
“When I won the grand final U16s Grand Final and got Best on Ground my classmates, teachers and other staff were so supportive. They all congratulated me and even came to watch the Grand Final. They were even watching the game in class on the Monday”.
What opportunities does SEDA offer for students interested in sports?
“SEDA has many great opportunities for us like the events and gala days we can participate in. We also have the opportunity to play in curtain raiser games like the Eels Cup which exposes us to scouts. What I think SEDA does really well is the way we get experience coaching younger children through our Primary School Clinic Days and also exposure to personal training to have a career in sports”.
“Footy is what I want to do in my future, and I knew that SEDA would be a good school to support me with my journey”. “Even if I don’t make the AFLW I can still do something in the sporting industry in the future and being a SEDA gives me a head start with that”.