Ava Harrison-Raknes

My name is Ava Harrison-Raknes. I was born in Wangaratta hospital. I love this town, but it's not the most interesting place for a young person - that's why I enjoy trying to create more opportunities for young people. It's better now I have my license, and I can drive wherever I want - for coffee with friends, to the library for study, and to my jobs and volunteer positions.

I joined FReeZa (now known as Amplify) last year. It was really good I wish there'd been more people, because it was only a small group of us. I thought it sounded interesting, I could learn new skills, meet new people, learn a bit more about Wangaratta, and maybe create a sense of connectedness as well.

We helped plan local events like the Battle of the Bands and the All-Ages Tour. I didn't realise how complicated event planning is, it was interesting to see how all the elements came together successfully.

We met at the Youth Hub so there was a nice connection to that group. And that led to me joining Co-Design who helped plan Council's Youth Strategy. We started in February and presented the Strategy to the Councillors in early September. I felt proud to be part of something that's going to help in the future.

One of my main contributions was to stress the importance of providing or advocating for more public transport. If I’d had better access to transport, I would have attended more events and connected with my environment more. We can offer more events but if kids can’t get to them, what’s the point?

Being a part of FReeZa, opened my eyes to lots of things including volunteering opportunities. I’ve been helping at CareVan once or twice a week for a year and I volunteered at the Salvation Army for my bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.

I'm not a very athletic person and I've never played any team sports, but for the Duke of Edinburgh Award I had to make an adventurous journey, which is three days away from home. I did a 197-kilometer bike ride from here to Bright and back. I hadn’t ridden a bike in years, and it's silly - but I was just so impressed by myself, it was a big personal achievement.

I did a criminology course through Deakin University as part of year 12. I’m pretty happy with my exam results, I got 93.35 which puts me in the top 6.5% of the state. I'm hoping to do a double degree in law and arts, majoring in history at Deakin.

It can be difficult for people in the regions to seek justice and access good legal representation. That inspires me to get a law degree, get qualified, then come back and help people.

I met a lawyer at Victorian Legal Aid through my boss, and she's been a big inspiration for me. In legal studies at school, you consider the fairness of the system. How are people that represent themselves going to get a fair outcome if they don't understand the system. If I can help somebody, then surely that means I have a purpose, right?

I love history. It's so cliché, but history always repeats itself. So many historical events inform the present. But yeah, it's a passion whereas law is an actual career, and it would be beneficial to others.

When somebody expresses their passion and people listen to them, I think that's an interesting way for people to connect. When you go to a concert, or if someone is busking on the street and you can tell they're passionate about what they're doing - people will listen. Or when you watch a movie or a debate, and they're speaking passionately - the audience is entranced, like absolutely in awe. I think that's a truly inspirational thing.

A few times in my life I've done something that has really been appreciated. I wrote a poem for my best friend's 16th birthday. I don't think it was a very good poem, but she really loved it, and it made her happy. I’m inspired by genuine human interactions and it's nice to feel helpful and to feel appreciated by people, and that probably inspires me to try harder.

I put a lot of pressure on myself. I’m competitive and I compare myself with others but it’s not detrimental to my mental state. Like everybody, I want to feel important and that I have done something worthwhile. If I can be productive when I'm young, hopefully that'll set me up to accomplish something good, even if it's just making sure that somebody has good legal representation. 

Ava was interviewed in December 2025