A closer look at our nominees

Good luck to all the nominees in tonight's RED Carpet Youth Awards.

Here's a closer look at the nominees in the Music and Performing Arts Award.

Five nominees across all categories have also been named in the Youth Ambassador Award - check them out below.

Music and Performing Arts Award

Caleb Bertram, 14

Caleb is at home on the stage.

The year 9 student at Victory Lutheran College Wodonga loves music and performing arts, especially musical theatre.

The budding young actor has been in a number of local productions, dedicating his time and efforts to help with their success.

His highlights so far include landing a lead role in his first senior school musical in 2018’s Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat where he played the role of Joseph.

Previously, Caleb was in the ensemble for Bytesized Productions Beauty and the Beast in 2017, which was the moment he realised how much he loved being involved in the wonderful musical theatre community.

This year in Bytesized Productions Camp Rock, he played a minor lead of Andy Hosten.

Caleb described the show as amazing and learnt that he actually liked dancing.

In his other spare time, he enjoys riding and competing on his horses in showjumping and playing AFL football.

Sophie Rawlings, 14

Sophie has been dancing since the age of two and doesn’t think she will ever stop.

Three years ago she started working towards her dream career as a professional dancer, successfully auditioning for the Projection Dance School’s full-time vocational training program.

In her pursuit to be a professional ballerina, Sophie shows dedication by waking up at 5.45am each weekday to travel by bus at 7am, then trains from 9.30am to 3.30pm and returns home to Mount Beauty by bus at 4pm.

A typical day for Sophie at Projection Dance School involves strength and conditioning classes, ballet class, contemporary class and rehearsals for upcoming performances.

It is once all of this is complete that Sophie must then begin her schoolwork, which she completes online through Distance Education Victoria.

In one week alone, Sophie travels about 1000km so she can do what she loves each day.

Sophie’s dream is to one day complete her training at London‘s Royal Ballet School.

Charlotte Kay, 18

Charlotte is a double threat with her talent for acting in musical theatre and her gift for playing the alto saxophone.

The year 12 Wodonga Senior Secondary College student pursues her passion for music and performance through multiple avenues including musical theatre, choirs, bands, concert bands, and community projects.

Charlotte is heavily involved in the region’s Performing Arts Committee, having been a part of eight community shows in the past five years.

She plays alto saxophone in concert bands and has sung in choirs, competed in many eisteddfods, and was handpicked to represent the region twice at Melbourne’s Hamer Hall, as a jazz band vocalist and musical theatre performer.

Charlotte most recently performed at the Albury Carols by Candlelight as a soloist and is currently in Wodonga Senior Secondary’s upcoming show Matilda the Musical.

In the Georgy Awards, Charlotte has been nominated for three awards in the past two years, winning two awards for best junior vocalist and supporting actress.

Charlotte has been involved in various ANZAC and Remembrance Day ceremonies, and has relished at the opportunity to be involved in community projects, such as playing Snow White in Picnic in the Gardens for thousands of local children.

Kaitlyn Castro, 17

Kaitlyn is a self-confessed music fanatic.

Her favourite music genre is classic rock ’n’ roll, and she absolutely loves The Beatles.

Kaitlyn volunteers her time on the Retro Youth Committee, attending the committee’s weekly Thursday afternoon meetings where members make plans for future Retro events and discuss ideas on how to improve the community for local youths.

Earlier this year, Kaitlyn worked as a stage manager for the Addicted Band Competition run by the Retro Youth committee.

The Wodonga Senior Secondary College student studies VET Music, a class that teaches about the music industry and where students learn to set up sound systems for gigs and recording sessions.

Kaitlyn is able to use these skills to set up events held at the school such as ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day ceremonies.

Youth Ambassador Award

Savannah West (nominated for Individual Community Service Award)

Savannah has embraced her sexuality after ‘coming out’ at the age of 19.

After growing up in the small town of Hillston (population 1000), she kept her sexuality a secret until leaving school and moving away for fear her sexual preference would not be accepted.

Savannah is heavily involved in advocating beside and for other young people in the community, which has been a passion and drive within her community work and involvement.

Savannah feels she is lucky that her family were accepting and have embraced her sexuality, but is aware not all young LGBTIQ+ have this opportunity.

This led to her volunteering with WayOut Wodonga that saw her start engaging in community projects and advocacy work, including presenting gender and sexuality educational workshops to secondary school classes, attend meetings fortnightly to create solutions to address problems or needs for the LGBTIQ+ youth in the community.

Savannah volunteered with the North East Pride Collective, which saw her given the opportunity to take on a lead role in creating the inaugural Rainbow Ball for the LGBTIQ+ youth.

More than 200 young people attended from throughout the North East.

Savannah attended the Mandala Leadership Camp after receiving a scholarship, which educated her on how to be a better leader.

She also advocated at Wodonga TAFE to make the education institute more LGBTIQ+ inclusive, which has now seen TAFE in the process of establishing a student diversity group.

As Savannah is approaching 25 years of age, she sees it as her duty to pass the baton onto the next wave of emerging young leaders.

From her engagement with young people, she knows the future of community work and advocacy is in good hands.

Moving forward, she will continue to collaborate with service providers including local government to meet the needs of LGBTIQ+ young people.

She will continue her studies with La Trobe University in social work to become a professional and take on systematic policy change.

Carliegh Walsh (nominated for Visual Arts and Media Award)

Carliegh Walsh is a proud upcoming Aboriginal artist from the Wiradjuri region.

In year 7, she joined the Felltimber Koorie Art Club at Wodonga Middle Years College.

It was in the art club that her art and friendships merged.

Carliegh’s art started to feature her friendships as they are of great importance to the teenager.

She loves being there for her friends and supporting them in troubled times.

Carliegh’s artwork developed a theme of meeting places, ‘waterholes’ and ‘turtle lakes’. These meeting places are a cultural representative of friendships.

Some of Carliegh’s art is on display at the Eddie Kneebone Gallery at Wodonga TAFE and are also incorporated into the glass doors at The Department of Justice Building in Wodonga.

Carliegh has recently created some Aboriginal education resources, which are being used by Wodonga Council’s preschools.

She is involved in a program at Baranduda Primay School where she is assisting in recreating stories into Koorie art, with children retelling the stories in their own words.

Carliegh is passionate about sharing her culture with young people as they create art together and wants to pursue a career in working with children.

Jack Redcliffe (nominated for Advocacy and Action and Young Carers Awards)

Jack is always helping others.

His selfless approach sees him give back to the community in many ways including volunteering with community organisations such as Carevan.

The year 11 Wodonga Senior Secondary College student has two brothers who have personal challenges that have a big impact on the family and how they function.

Jack is always able to see the bright side of things and is an advocate for marginalised people.

His passion for helping others is evident when he helps cook each week for Carevan and makes sandwiches for local primary school students who may go without.

Most recently, Jack helped host a movie night to raise awareness of mental health and suicide prevention for the Winter Solstice for Friends and Survivors of Suicide.

Jack is also a supporter of the Wodonga Jets, an all-abilities football team that he helps by running water to players, working in the canteen and scoring each week at home and away games.

He also assists the players with emotional support, encouraging and motivating them at training and during games.

Mentoring is a role that Jack enjoys on a weekly basis.

Every Tuesday night he takes a young man aged in his early 20s to the gym for boxing classes to build the young man's social capacity and help his fitness.

Casey Seymour (nominated for Endurance and Resilience Award)

An unexpected health condition saw Casey Seymour placed in a coma for several weeks with doctors diagnosing an ongoing medical condition.

Casey completed year 12 in 2016 and started an engine rebuilding apprenticeship with Motoreco in Wodonga in 2017.

He enjoyed walking to work, had a great boss and liked living at home with his family.

However, in May 2017, an unexpected health condition and a trip in the ambulance escalated into being airlifted to Melbourne where he was placed in a coma.

Casey had to forgo his apprenticeship with Charles LeMesurier, as lots of specialist appointments, medication changes and medical complications made holding a mainstream job impossible.

In spite of this, Casey enjoys using his time to lead year 7 and 8 boys in our area at weekly youth group meetings.

He also helps pack food share parcels for local families, and does odd jobs around the home.

Casey attends youth meetings and has awesome mates who drive him around.

His goal is to one day finish building his old Dodge ute.

Casey enjoys helping youth in the Wodonga community achieve their own aspirations and looks forward to his personal health improving so he can work full-time and study.

Holly Kupa (nominated for Music and Performing Arts Award)

Holly is a talented singer and actor who enjoys helping to foster the skills of other students interested in performing arts.

She has been taking voice lessons for the past five years and has competed in the local eisteddfod where she has won several categories.

Vocal nodules on her throat resulted in Holly not being able to perform to her preferred level.

During this time, she was able to mentor younger students and support her peer group in their performance goals, even when she was not able to meet her own goals.

Holly has been a member of scouts since she was seven years old.

She has been involved in the Albury Gang Show, a theatre company run by the scouts and girl guides associations in Albury and Wodonga, learning valuable stage skills and taking on a lead role in the 2018 performance.

For the past three years, Holly has taken on a mentoring role in the Albury Gang Show production, helping the younger cast members and has been an integral member of the production team.

Dancing is also a passion for Holly who is part of the Hume Dance School Senior Competition Troupe and the Elite Performance Troupe.

All of these skills recently combined to allow Holly to win the Georgy Award 2018 for Best Junior Performance for her role as William Barfee in the Wodonga Senior Secondary College production of the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Holly is also part of the Wodonga Senior Secondary College 2019 school production of Matilda.