Sarah O’Sullivan of Askeaton has achieved the prestigious Gold Gaisce – The President’s Award, one of the highest honours for young people.
As a wheelchair user, she worked with Gaisce to adapt challenges to suit her abilities while still completing the award requirements and meeting the same high standards.
“Only around 50 people in the whole of Ireland complete the Gold Gaisce each year,” Sarah explain-ed. “Along the way, I’ve learnt new skills, given back to the community, and pushed myself further than I thought possible. My motto is: dream, believe, achieve.”
Her journey is a powerful example of ambition, determination and finding creative solutions to achieve her goals.
“I worked with The President’s Award to see how I could complete the challenge areas in ways suited to my own abilities,” Sarah said.
“For my adventure journey, I couldn’t go away for two nights as usually required, so I focused on exploring different parts of the Limerick Greenway and seeing how accessible they are.
“The distance of my treks was determined by my wheelchair’s battery – each return trip had to be 10km in total. I didn’t want to get stuck on the Greenway with no battery! There were some other barriers, like gates, which, if I’d been by myself, I wouldn’t have been able to open. So, I was grateful for the support of my parents (Liam and Bríd), who went with me.”
She added: “My fav-ourite challenge area was my residential project. I decided to raise funds for a local charity through a charity cycle.
“Community Involve- ment was also a rewarding part of the Gaisce. While I was studying at Mary Immaculate College, I was a class rep. I worked with students to ensure we were all represented in college decisions.
“Another part of my community involve-ment was litter picking.”
Sarah concluded: “Of course, a real high-light of completing the Gold Gaisce was meeting the President, Catherine Connolly.”