No, this is not another story about why the lame duck gets the first chip. It’s about young local students achieving success. Dux is Latin for “leader”. During the Roman Republic, dux could refer to anyone who commanded troops, including foreign leaders, but was not a formal military rank.
Featured Image(above): Keifer Titmus
Today, Dux refers to the person with the highest academic rank in their year or class. Although the term ‘Dux’ is extremely common in some regions, most notably Queensland, and around Australia, it is often unheard of in many parts of the world. The Rotary Club of Bribie Island has been presenting a Dux perpetual trophy and a $100 bursary to the top students in Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 at the Bribie Island State High School since 2005 (2016 for Year 7).
At this year’s 30th anniversary of the High Schools Awards night, our Youth Director, June Sturges presented the five awards. Those receiving the awards were:
- Year 7 Keity Turpin
- Year 8 Lucy O’Connor
- Year 9 Olivia D’Rozario
- Year 10 Brooklyn Self
- Year 11 Keifer Titmus
Bribie Rotary congratulates this year’s recipients of the Dux awards and wish them well in their future schooling and careers. I’m sure the $100 will be spent wisely. Our Club is proud of the ongoing support we give to our local High School not only through sponsoring the Dux awards but through the sponsorship of students to attend other Rotary Youth Programs.
For example, one of next year’s School Captains, Alexis Thomas, was selected to attend the National Youth Science Forum in Canberra in January 2019. In 2016 and 2017, students were selected to attend the Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) in Canberra. Dakoda Titmus and Lexie Waddell-Bajor who attended MUNA when they were in Year 11 went on to become School captains in 2017 and 2018. We are honoured to support these students and follow their careers with interest.
So next time you buy a raffle ticket from us, or a sausage sandwich (with the onion underneath!) at the Rotary markets, know that your money does support local youth as well as our overseas causes.