Michael Sheldrick, co-founder of the global advocacy platform Global Citizen, is returning to Perth as the organisation stages its event in Western Australia once again. The event will focus on energy poverty, though further details on the program and participants have not yet been released.
Sheldrick grew up in Kinross and attended high school in Clarkson and Mindarie before studying law and political science at the University of Western Australia. He recalled being a shy, insecure student who was not academically strong.
"When someone asks my mum 'Did you ever think Michael was going to do all this?' She says 'No, absolutely not' because at the start of high school I was that kid who was incredibly shy, very insecure and I wasn't great at many things," Sheldrick said.
He credits one of his teachers in his first year of high school for helping him persist and put extra effort into his studies. "It was the first time someone had really said you're not stupid, you're not lazy, you're not a loser and I believe in you," he said. Sheldrick went on to graduate in the top 1 per cent of the state.
His experience as a struggling student motivated him to give back. "As I learnt about the world, the injustice, the inequities, [I realised] that there's millions of children who have so much potential and are far more talented and smarter than I am, but because they don't have access to great teachers like we have here in Perth, or maybe great healthcare systems, would never live to achieve their potential," he said.
Sheldrick met his four fellow co-founders Hugh Evans, Simon Moss, Wei Soo and Ryan Gall at university, where they spearheaded the first major Global Citizen campaign.