Wodonga Council celebrated five Young Achiever Scheme recipients at its June council meeting, including three elite football players and siblings who are rising stars in the BMX circuit.
The scholarships help cover costs associated with their endeavours and propel them into national competitions, representing their very proud city.
Israel Mbula-Monga has been playing soccer since he was very young, following in the footsteps of his late father, who played, and then later coached for South Africa.
He hopes to play for Australia one day and he’s one step closer to this dream after being selected to represent his state in the Football Australia National Youth Championships.
Israel will use the scholarship to attend the championships and allow him to best place himself to reach talent scouts who are looking for players to recruit for state and national teams for future competitions.
Our next recipient is Koby Shields.
Koby first started playing soccer in under 6s at Willow Park as part of Miniroos, with his natural ability and passion for the sport growing each year.
After participating in the Football Victoria talent identification programs for the past five years, Koby has finally been selected to represent his state at the Football Australia National Youth Championships.
He will use the funding from the Young Achiever Scheme to help with the costs involved in travelling to Wollongong for the event.
Oliver Colombera has always demonstrated athletic prowess across a number of sporting activities.
However, it’s not just his exceptional skill and excelling individually that makes him stand out - he also contributes positively to the success of his team.
Oliver has also been selected to represent his state team at the Football Australia National Youth Championships.
The funding he receives from the Young Achiever Scheme will help in the costs involved in travelling to participate in the event and represent Wodonga during the championships.
Finally we have siblings Rhys and Abby Brown.
Abby is a proud member of the Border BMX club in Wodonga who is currently eighth in Victoria for her age group and 15th in Australia.
She has spent the past five years travelling across Victoria representing her club and Wodonga at state and national level.
Abby has overcome the peer pressure that surrounds being a female BMX rider and now demonstrates great maturity and leadership to the younger girls just beginning their racing journey.
Abby hopes to finish in the top eight of her age group in the upcoming BMX State Championships, which she will attend with support from the Young Achiever Scheme funding.
Rhys is also a member of the Border BMX club and lives and breathes BMX riding. 
He is striving for first or second ranking at the upcoming BMX State Championships.
For the past five years Rhys has travelled all over Victoria representing his club and Wodonga at state and national level.
He finished fourth in his age group at the Championships in 2021, fourth again in 2022 and last year he came third. He is currently ranked 27th in Australia for his age division.
The funding from the Young Achiever Scheme will help with the costs involved in travelling to BMX State Championships.
Congratulations to our June recipients.