Congratulations to Michelle Strzala Larkins Student of the Year 2026

Congratulations to Michelle Strzala, the 2026 Larkin Community College Student of the year. 

During her time in Larkin, Michelle has been an integral figure in conceptualizing, developing and supporting student initiatives within the school, her passion and natural inclination to seek out injustice and promote fairness saw her naturally evolve into the unofficial spokesperson for her year group. Michelle most recently cemented these credentials, being elected as a Student Council member. 

In addition to Michelle being vocal about the rights of the student, she is also incredibly creative. A talented and passionate Art student, Michelle has designed many pieces of beautiful Artwork for the benefit of the wider school community not to mention her wonderful costumes for the Halloween fundraisers throughout the years. As an Arts programme student, Michelle also became entrenched into the arts community early on, showcasing her creativity and talent on stage in many Arts productions over the years. Not only a great actress, Michelle proved to be a dedicated, team player who mentored some of the younger members of the programme.    

Michelle has demonstrated leadership through her involvement in the TAP Bridge to College Programme; planning and delivering MHESA on a whole school level together with her teammates, which brought wellbeing and student voice to new heights. The team received an award for their efforts from TAP and also gained recognition from the Lord Mayor when they visited for the Kindness Initiative. She has been involved in community events from Macnas to supporting NCI with Culture Night and various Localise events and has also supported silent lunch regularly. She is generous in her time and has proven to be a solid friend. She always looks out for others and values respect and fairness. Through the ups and downs of school life Michelle has always found solace in the Art room and it has enlighted a passion in her to become an Art teacher. It is a career she is made for. We would like to wish Michelle the very best of luck in her next chapter and thank her for her contribution to Larkin life.