Tahsin Ahmed - Tahsin's Future Focussed

Tahsin's Future Focussed

Written by Journalist, Angela Norval - Bundaberg Today, Friday July 16, 2021 

While St Luke’s Anglican School academic captain Tahsin Ahmed can lay claim to the amazing feat of assembling a piece of Ikea furniture without the instructions, this is not all that has seen him make his mark since joining the school in Grade 5.

Wanting to complete a computer science degree and one day become a software engineer, Tahsin has his eye firmly focused on the future.

Although Tahsin himself has a strong work ethic that has seen him named one of the school’s academic captains for this year, he said the wonderful school community was supporting him to be the best he could be.

“Ever since I first used a Windows XP computer, technology has been fascinating for me,” he said.

“I’ve always found enjoyment and fulfilment out of programming, and found the problem-solving process of developing and testing software enjoyable.

“As such, I aspire one day to become a software engineer and contribute to the apps and programs millions of people use every day.

“St Luke’s Anglican School is a truly wonderful community that supports and provides opportunities for their students to excel and grow.

“Without the expert guidance of my teachers, support of my fellow students, or networks and resources that the school provides, I would’ve never been able to continually challenge myself and become involved in so many exciting initiatives.

“Not only are my teachers all incredibly supportive and helpful, but also willing to push me academically to become very the best I can be.

“The St Luke’s community provides the drive and encouragement for every student to flourish, and it has been an honour and a privilege to serve as its academic captain for 2021.”

But Tahsin’s achievements don’t stop there. He’s also working hard also as part of the YMCA Queensland Youth Parliament. He said the program provided an exceptional opportunity for the youth of the state to engage, contribute and partake in a cause they were truly passionate about, with each youth member - representing every electorate in Queensland - put into a committee dedicated to an area of interest, such as agriculture, science and technology, justice and legal affairs or the environment.

From there, each committee member goes through the process of drafting, editing and amending a bill pertaining to their committee, before being forwarded into a Residential Sitting Week where the bill is debated between all youth members.

In addition to this, each youth member is encouraged to interact with their members of Parliament, and to enrich the community they represent through community events and initiatives.

“As the youth-member for Bundaberg, I am a part of the environment, renewables, energy and tourism committee dedicated to improving Queensland’s environmental regulation, alongside the incentivisation and distribution of clean energy and transport infrastructure,” he said.

“For this year’s session, the committee is working on electric vehicle legislation that will provide a regulatory framework for the mass-market consumer, governmental and industrial adoption of alternative energy transport.

“I have showcased that sustainable transportation, such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are critical for the eventual transition away from fossil fuels.

“However, unlike many other highly-developed economies, Queensland is yet to provide incentives or a long-term strategy for the uptake of electric vehicles, making alternative transport prohibitively expensive.

“As a result, adoption of sustainable transport has lagged considerably in comparison to the rest of the developing world. “This issue serves as the foundation for the youth-bill, which seeks to reform how alternative energy vehicles are sold and to provide consumers with incentives to transition to electric mobility.

“Furthermore, the bill aims to provide real-world timelines and targets for the adoption of sustainable transport, including dates for the conversion of government and service vehicles to electric mobility.”

Following a similar theme, Tahsin has also been a part of the National Schools Constitutional Convention which brings together students from across the nation to debate certain aspects of the Australian Constitution.

Before being selected as a delegate for the convention, he presented a speech on the constitution’s division of power for water management and irrigation, advocating for an amendment that transitioned power over waterways from the state to federal government.

“Within the convention itself, 107 delegates debated on a new preamble that would better reflect the nation’s modern values while further recognising its diverse people and history,” Tahsin said.

“This modified preamble, taking elements and ideas from all delegates, was later passed in a convention referendum.”

With so many opportunities open to him as a member of the St Luke’s Anglican School community and as a self-motivated young man, the future is looking bright for Tahsin and this is echoed by Bundaberg MP Tom Smith, who considers Tahsin an exemplary young leader in the Bundaberg region.

“His passion for creating positive change for not only Bundaberg but for all of Queensland is clear by the efforts he is making as our Youth Parliamentarian,” he said.

“I know that I am looking forward to seeing what outcomes he can deliver through the program and I know that he will represent our community in the right way well into the future.

“His parents, family and whole school community should be very proud to have a young person such as Tahsin wanting to be a positive voice for our community.”