Satire aside,being elected school captain is also the pinnacle of youth achievement and an iconic,uniquely Australian part of the school experience. As they’re elected by peers it can also be viewed,somewhat,as a popularity contest.
These are the people,we were all told,who were role models,the leaders of tomorrow,inspirations. Did those expectations stack up? Do you ever fully take the badge off?
Samantha Dybac was a school captain,now runs her own PR agency.James Brickwood
“I’ve ever since felt a responsibility to nurture others”
For some like Samantha Dybac,who was school captain at Baulkham Hills High School in 1996,the changes after being elected school captain were immediate.
As captains represent the school so visibly – from meeting external VIPs to MC’ing school events – the first thing the now 43-year-old from Darlinghurst,Sydney was expected to change was her hair.
“My way of rebelling - I didn’t drink,smoke or do drugs - had been to dye my hair a mixture of purple,blue and pink in year 11,” she says.
Once votes were in,she knew what was expected of her.
“I had to remove the colour with washing powder – not a fabulous experience. My hair went a weird orange/blonde colour.”
Those early changes,however stressful,stood her in good stead in both her career (she’s CEO and founder of the PR Hub) and as a parent to a daughter.
“In the early days getting a job,it was really useful on my CV – potential employers recognised it made me stand out,” she says.
The sense of responsibility has carried through to managing her team today. “It’s made me realise I set an example to others;I have a responsibility to nurture and mentor them.”
The badge never truly comes off,even in a social setting when her friends try to surprise people by telling them she was captain:“I kind of cringe,” she says laughing. “And people say they’re not actually that surprised.”
Despite the joshing,there’s a more serious female empowerment message Dybac likes to send to her own six-year-old daughter.
“As you age,those achievements have less impact – but I’m still very proud of this achievement,” she says. “For my daughter,a school captain is something she understands as being prestigious so she thinks she has an ok mum!”
“Through being school captain I found a love of motivating others”
was named school captain of Wesley College’s St Kilda Road campus for 2019,giving him his first non-sport leadership role.
The overwhelming feeling for him was paying his parents back for the belief and sacrifices they had made for him.
Former Wesley College school captain Charlie Dean.Luis Ascui
“It was just great for the pride it gave them,mum and dad choked up and that meant a lot to me,” he says.
Dean says he fell into the trap of trying to be the perfect student but got some good advice about being himself. The role also opened him up to new opportunities that helped him when he originally missed out on being drafted to the AFL at the end of the year.
“Through the role I picked up on other passions and interests that I love. When I finished year 12 through the pandemic years,I coached sport at Wesley and I also had my local mentoring business with kids,giving them a well balanced plan around physical activity,juggling that with school work,” he says.
Now on Collingwood’s list and recovering from surgery,he says being school captain exposed him to other areas outside sport had broadened his horizons and interests.
“It restored my battered self-esteem”
Talia Crinis was a school captain now works in PR.Supplied
For Tahlia Crinis,38,being selected captain of Wollongong’s Bulli High School in 1996 was a poignant turning point.
“My ears stuck out a lot,so I was bullied – I’d get called ‘dumbo’,or ‘cab doors,’ she says.
“It made me very insecure and quite shy,even though that probably wasn’t my nature. I was constantly covering my ears with my hair.”
Her self-worth became so low,she had her ears pinned back by a cosmetic surgeon. “It wasn’t necessarily the right way to go,but I never believed my mum who insisted I was beautiful,” she says.
Despite the confidence boost,Crinis wasn’t convinced of her chances at winning the top position:“Whilst always keen to impress,I was more a teacher’s pet who sat with the nerds. I’d always struggled with fears of people not liking me.”
She was so surprised when her name was announced,she now has doubts over the fairness of the count. “There we smarter and more popular contenders than me,” she says. “It’s supposedly chosen by peers – but I actually think the teachers decide.”
Afterwards,her shyness evaporated:“My self-esteem did a 180,” she says. “It encouraged me to pursue drama. I now do acting on the side and am not afraid to jump on stage or in front of the camera.”
As for her career,she has been drawn to positions where being a self-starter or a leader are required. Today,she runs her PR consultancy – Boss Media PR. “My title ‘the boss’ says a lot. I’m definitely drawn to being in control of my own thing,” she says.
The work ethic has stuck with her too,and consequently,all shackles of her previously low self-belief have been shaken. “It’s all about the work,” she says. “If you put the work in,it can pay off. When you learn that lesson young,you carry it with you for life. I genuinely believe I can achieve most things I set out to do so long as I put in the work.”
“Training ground for future politicians”
“There must be stacks of ex school captains in politics,” says Jaimie Abbott,who has run for the Liberal Party at a state and federal level in Port Stephens.
While captain of her primary school in 1995,she was vice captain of her Cardiff High School in 2000,which,she says,“just like Vice Presidents and Vice Chancellors,probably entailed more hard work than the top job.”
Former Liberal party candidate Jaimie Abbott says there are plenty of former school captains in politics.Supplied
She says that “whilst few grow up wanting to be an MP,” it’s a great training ground for future politicians.
The experience taught her that winning others over depends on one thing:your speech on the day.
“You could be the best person for the job but if you can’t communicate,you aren’t going to be as successful as someone who can,” she says.
“No one really cares about you – they prize its relevancy to them. That’s why the other girl won. She really made it about the audience,here’s what I’ll do for you,whereas I listed all the reasons I’d make a good captain;about me.”
Abbott says there’s a certain ‘type’ who captain:“They were people pleasers but not necessarily the ‘popular girls’ who were pretty blonde surfers or ‘class clowns’ who made people laugh,” she says.
Towing the line can be an expectation of school captains –,accusing one of Sydney’s most prestigious private schools,Ravenswood,of censoring her.
For satirist Dan Ilic,meanwhile,missing out has informed his future ambitions.
“A teacher confided that I should’ve been school captain. It’s been a chip on my shoulder ever since,” he says.
“A chip I plan to spackfilla with a run as an independent senator in about a decade.”
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