Rob Riley Memorial Prize awarded to WA’s top Aboriginal students

Sienna McLaren and Callum Hudman graduated secondary school last year with an additional honour to display as the recipients of the prestigious Rob Riley Memorial Prize.

Named after the late Aboriginal human rights advocate, the Rob Riley Memorial Prize is awarded to the highest achieving Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) and Vocational Education and Training (VET) Aboriginal students in WA’s public schools. 

Graduating with a Certificate of Distinction from Churchlands Senior High School, Sienna received the top ATAR prize. 

She now plans to study a degree in environmental science at the University of Western Australia and hopes to one day have a job with a focus on reducing the impacts humans have on the environment. 

Hailing from Gunaikurnai Country in Victoria, Sienna said it was a tremendous honour to receive the Rob Riley Memorial Prize after years of working towards the goal throughout secondary school.  

“Hearing that I finally achieved my goal made all the hard work worth it,” she said. 

Sienna shared advice for Aboriginal secondary school students. 

“I really want to stress that you should strive as high as you can and challenge yourself to get better and better,” she said. 

“Always use any resources you have available to you, as well as seek help wherever possible.” 

Meanwhile, Safety Bay Senior High School graduate Callum won the top 2025 VET prize. 

He completed 191 workplace learning hours and received a Certificate II in Workplace Skills, Certificate II in Engineering and Certificate III in Business.  

Callum now plans to start a four-year apprenticeship with Alltrax Diesel Services as a heavy diesel mechanic. 

He said his dream job would involve travel and meeting people from different backgrounds. 

Callum’s message to Indigenous students studying Year 12 was to surround yourself with trustworthy and supportive people. 

“I would like to thank my teachers, family, work placement co-workers and my TAFE lecturers who always pushed me to be a better version of myself,” he said. 

“They would never know how much it means to me that they showed up every day and inspired me to be better.”