Seeds of Empathy

PICTURED: Moss Vale Public school Principal Katherine Hurst was one of only 150 people worldwide to receive Rotary International’s Award for Excellence in Service to Humanity last year.

Moss Vale Principal encourages kindness by example. When Principal Katherine Hurst accepted Rotary International’s Award for Excellence in Service to Humanity last year, it was more than just a personal honour. It was recognition of how one school, guided by vision and community spirit, can create lasting change well beyond its gates.

Words: Sarah Atkins. President, No Borders Rotaract.

“No matter how long we’ve been with Rotary, we all benefit from the energy and fresh perspectives of our young leaders,” Rotary International Past President Stephanie Urchick emphasised in an address last year. RI President-elect Olayinka Babalola has also called on Rotarians to harness the enthusiasm and creativity of youth. For those in Rotary wanting some practical pointers, the leadership style of Moss Vale Public School Principal Katherine Hurst exemplifies this beautifully.

In a few short years, Katherine has guided her students through projects to increase awareness of trachoma in rural communities, organised drives for hygiene products, revised internal school structures to encourage student leadership, and established a Rotary peace garden in the grounds of the school. Speaking to Katherine about her life so far, it’s easy to see how one person can inspire an entire community to think beyond themselves and spark transformative change.

For someone who is a natural born leader and educator, she didn’t always see herself becoming a teacher.

“Truth be told, I always wanted to be a marine biologist and work with dolphins,” she says, quite reasonably. “But I was passionate about working with children. I love seeing children grow, celebrating the small successes and, most importantly, witnessing the profound difference educators can make.” The education journey took her from Australia to London, as well as on an international leadership tour that led her to conferences across the United States. Katherine’s youth clearly underlines her natural aptitude for the role. Her rapid progression from classroom teacher to assistant principal, deputy principal and then principal of Moss Vale happened “quite naturally within a few years” (a recent announcement of her award, published in The Highland News, is headlined, “The kids adore her!”). Soon, she was looking outside the box for ways in which her students could collaborate meaningfully in the community.

I love seeing children grow, celebrating the small successes and, most importantly, witnessing the profound difference educators can make.

These efforts began in 2021, when the Rotary E-Club of Brindabella invited Moss Vale Public School to partner with them on an End Trachoma project. Trachoma, which is preventable, is a little-known disease in the large Australian cities but poses a very real threat in Australia’s rural communities: an infection of the eye causes blindness and constant pain as eyelashes turn inwards.

The good news is that it is easy to combat with a toolkit of awareness and hygiene supplies. Seeing a solvable problem, Katherine and her students stepped in to provide both to rural communities in New South Wales, and the school embraced the project wholeheartedly. Students wrote heartfelt letters to children in a remote Northern Territory school, forging connections across vast distances. The wider Moss Vale community rallied to donate hygiene items – soap, toothbrushes and other essentials – that would help restock supplies in schools where trachoma prevention was part of daily life. The project is still ongoing: Katherine hopes to do another community drive in future months.

After the trachoma awareness project, student involvement in positive change-making steadily rose. A student leadership program was established, allowing students to have a more decisive say in school decisions, such as organising assemblies, representing their peers and taking ownership of service-minded initiatives.

“Student leadership has always been a strength at our school. The focus of the SVT [Student Voice Team] has extended well beyond our school gates,” says Katherine.

“Over recent years, we have supported a range of community organisations through initiatives such as mufti days where, instead of donating money, students bring pantry items to contribute. Supported organisations have included Pop In (a local domestic violence service), a Highlands Community Church Christmas charity, the Wingecarribee Council Christmas Appeal, St Vincent de Paul and Meals on Wheels, where students collected special treats to include in Christmas deliveries. We also acknowledge various awareness days throughout the year to reflect the diversity within our school community.”

The penultimate project for 2025 was the establishment of a Rotary peace garden within the school’s grounds. In admiration of Katherine and her students’ efforts, Past District Governor Rob Uhl and the Brindabella e-club sent a $7,000 district grant and a Rotary Peace Pole to Moss Vale, and consultations began for how best to design a welcoming and inclusive outdoor space for students. After consultations with community members and help from Rotarians with design experience, the initial Japanese Zen-style garden was modified into one that reflected local themes, with an emphasis on quiet instruments and plants native to New South Wales. The Moss Vale Rotary Club donated a further $14,000 from their 2023 Rotary Golf Day, and construction began.

“The garden design and build took several years and involved many challenges. The finished space now includes artificial turf for all-weather use, sandstone and timber surrounds, and natural garden beds planted with native species,” says Katherine. “Both the school and the NSW Department of Education contributed additional funding to bring the project to completion. Looking ahead, we plan to include a mural on the adjacent brick wall. We hope this will be designed and created by our students in collaboration with an Indigenous artist. [This will] symbolise connection, community and harmony.”

In short, a plethora of forward-thinking projects have been rolled out since Katherine began her role as principal. It’s easy to see why she was a clear choice for the Excellence in Service to Humanity Award. When asked what’s next, she looks towards the future with optimism: a second hygiene drive, the mural for the peace garden, a video connection with Bulla Camp School. There’s always something cooking, but Katherine is quick to emphasise that this momentum is a result of the dedication and enthusiasm between her students and fellow staff.

“[While] the award itself has been presented to me,” she clarifies, “so many people within our school have supported the initiatives we have partnered with Rotary on. It’s the collective efforts of many people that have brought these projects and partnerships to life. That’s where the real impact and the ‘ripples of positive change’ come from.”