Fifth Year St Brigid's student Abbie O'Sullivan, winner of the Rotary Youth Leadership Competition, has returned from an exciting trip to Strasbourg.

TRIP: Killarney student Abbie O'Sullivan reflects on her exciting trip to Strasbourg.

This week she shares her thoughts about the experience.

"In February I had the privilege of attending the European Parliament in Strasbourg as a winner of the Rotary Youth Leadership Competition. It was a trip that could not be defined by words. It expanded my knowledge, taught me new things about myself and others, and helped me create life-long bonds with people all over the country and across Europe. I entered this competition through my school and took part in three different interview sessions. I was asked about my own position in leadership, my opinions on topical issues both local and national and got to present myself professionally to the Killarney Rotary Club. My finals took place in Cork city where I was awarded this trip of a lifetime, representing The Rotary Club. I was over the moon wondering what experiences, friends and stories I would take from this trip and now as I reflect on it, the reality was beyond my expectations.

"I arrived in Belfast and met the 23 other winners of the award. Immediately, we became attached at the hip rushing to dinner together and enjoying the first night of this amazing trip by getting to know one another. We spent the following day in Belfast and then Dublin, first visiting city hall and having a private luncheon and conversation with the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Tina Black. She taught us about her position as both a woman in politics and also her position in Northern Ireland. We then visited Stormont. We had a guided tour there and spoke with three MLAs and had the opportunity to ask them questions. The day ended by taking a bus to Dublin and spending the evening laughing and learning together as we prepared for our event in Strasbourg. Our day in Dublin consisted of two major events; firstly, we visited Europe House. Here we learned about all the facilities and opportunities available to us in the European Union and shared our thoughts on current issues. In my opinion, this trip taught us how to work and converse as adults whilst also have as much fun as possible with our peers! We received our official certificates and then went to the Dáil for our second tour of State Governments. The night concluded with a 3am wake up call to board a flight to Frankfurt.

"We drove to Strasbourg from Germany and settled into our hostel, which we shared with over 500 other students attending the Parliament. That night we were given free time to explore so we organised a self-guided walking tour to make the most of our time! The Rotarian leaders must have been exhausted, just as we were, but none of us were going to let this opportunity slip away. The next day was the big event called Euroscola. At this event, Ireland, along with all other EU Member States, sat in the official Parliament hemisphere and debated the EU Zero Pollution Ambition. Having a huge interest in politics, this was the big moment of the trip for me. When I sat down in the parliament and was able to speak and share my opinion, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of accomplishment, and it is something I could never have experienced without the Rotary Club and the Youth Leadership Award.

"The next day was time for us to spend our last day together and experience the city of Strasbourg even more. Our return to Dublin Airport was full of hugs, tears and laughs. Thankfully, the 24 of us have stayed in touch and are hopefully working on another project to promote this very competition. This trip truly was an amazing experience, and I cannot recommend it enough to any young person in Killarney."