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Tasmanian Everest climber speaks to Year 10

As part of Year 10 EMPOWER guest speakers program, John Zeckendorf, the first Tasmanian to summit Mt Everest, shared his story with Year 10 this week.

Even more importantly, John demonstrated how he broke down the challenge of climbing Everest into smaller achievable goals.

John compared this process to the many goals and challenges the Year 10s have over the next few years, from Year 11/12 study to future pathways and University.

John challenged students to push themselves beyond what they are capable. Often our minds give up, especially when the goal we are aspiring to achieve is a long way away.

But just because you cannot do what you want to now or achieve something now, does not mean there isn’t a pathway you can find, which has smaller, achievable goals along the way.

John also talked about the impact of teams and the impact those you hang around with have on your ability to achieve and succeed. John recalled when he was surrounded by a great team, his climbs were a lot more successful.

John reminds us that if you have common values in your team, your chance of success increases.

John planned his trip to Everest for 14 months and said that being well organised and ensuring that everything was safe were crucial to his success. Being so well planned allowed him to enjoy his experience.

An interesting fact John mentioned was that women who reach the Everest base camp, have a much higher percentage success in reaching the summit. He believed that this was due to their mental strength and ability to break down and succeed at tasks.

We were most grateful to John for an excellent presentation.

Mr Aaron Davey - Coordinator of Pastoral Care 7-10