ANU shines at ACT Young Canberra Citizen of the Year awards

The ANU was well represented at the ACT Young Canberra Citizen of the Year Awards, with an alumnus and a current student each picking up an award at the 2016 ceremony.

Jordan Kerr won the overall category for the 2016 Young Canberra Citizen of the Year, for his advocacy work in establishing the National Youth Council of Australia.

Jordan described receiving the award as an honour and a privilege.

"Honestly, receiving this award came as quite a shock," Jordan said.

"There are so many amazing young people in Canberra doing amazing things."

Jordan, a second-year student undertaking a Bachelor of International Relations in the College of Arts and Social Sciences, said his proudest achievement was organising the 2015 National Youth Conference which attracted more than 300 young people from around Australia and tens of thousands online.

"One key success of the event was one delegate, who after attending, changed their path of study at university, [thereby] inspiring her to follow a path that she had a new-found passion for."

The 2016 conference in August is set to build on the success of 2015 with a move from ANU to ANZ Stadium in Sydney.

School of Music alumnus Leonard Weiss won the category of 2016 Young Canberra Citizen of the Year for Youth Arts and Multimedia, for his efforts in sharing, enhancing and contributing to Canberra's musical landscape.

"Receiving this award is a great honour in recognition of the hard work that goes on in the youth music sector in general - particularly looking at the Canberra Youth Orchestra and the ANU Pre-tertiary program," he said.

"It is a privilege to be awarded for helping to educate and shape the experiences of the next generation of musicians in Canberra."

He also paid tribute to the ANU School of Music and the hard work and dedication of the staff who work there.

Weiss, who graduated from ANU in 2013, is actively involved in conducting with the Canberra Youth Orchestra, the National Capital Orchestra, the ANU Choral Society and Canberra Qwire. He is also a carillonist who works at the National Carillon. In 2015, he performed in the North America summer recital series, which saw him perform on the bells at Princeton University.