Connor wins All-Ireland Rotary award

Connor wins All-Ireland Rotary award

6 December 2023

A DRUMANESS teenager has come up trumps in a competition organised by Rotary Ireland.

Sixteen year-old Connor McVarnock, at student at St Colman’s High and Sixth Form College, won the zone final in the prestigious Rotary Youth Leadership Development competition.

The competition rewards young people, who show clear leadership potential based on their extracurricular activities.

Open to young people aged 16-17 from across Ireland, it is run in conjunction with the EU Parliament office in Dublin, and Euroscola in Strasbourg. 

Connor was selected from other candidates in the final of the Comber area competition and went on to face stiff competition against students from Glenola Collegiate Girls’ School and Bangor Grammar School.

He impressed a panel of judges with his knowledge of current community and environmental issues, and his articulate and fluent presentation. 

Connor’s prize will be to travel to Strasbourg, Belfast and Dublin with fellow winners from across Ireland. 

Thanking the judging panel and Rotary for selecting him, Connor said he appreciated their support and felt he had already gained so much from his experience in the competition.

The president of Donaghadee Rotary Club, Valerie Goodchild, congratulated Connor and the other finalists. She said:

“The standard of presentations was excellent and great credit is due to all our finalists and all students who took part in earlier rounds. We hope everyone enjoyed the experience and benefited from taking part.”