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Young Roo Helps Pay-It-Forward

La Trobe University have combined AFL, celebrities and pizzas to promote community engagement at their latest Melbourne campus Open Day.

Young North Melbourne defender Luke McDonald joined popular actress Isabel Lucas and up-and-coming model Laura Henshaw distribute pizzas to La Trobe University visitors and raise awareness for the early admissions program, Aspire.

Aspire is a La Trobe University program that rewards high school students who are actively involved in their community with an early offer into the university before undertaking Year 12 exams and receiving an ATAR score.

Using the ‘Pay-It-Forward’ initiative – handing out pizzas to hungry attendees with instructions to pass onto other students so they can redeem their own pizza – McDonald said high-school students will benefit from volunteering in their local communities.

“The whole thing about the Aspire program is when you’re doing the community work, you probably end up doing better [at school] because you’ve got your mind on things other than just the books. It’s a really good program,” McDonald said.

Henshaw, who is also currently studying law at La Trobe, echoed McDonald’s comments and applauded La Trobe’s work in this space.

“It’s great to see my University encouraging and supporting community-minded Australians. Aspire is really popular with students at La Trobe, so I really encourage year 12 students to investigate their options and apply.”