Imogen O’Shannessy has packed a lot into her 18 years including being nominated as a finalist in the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards. Justin Flynn speaks to her about life as a young queer person in Geelong and the many ways she is trying to help.
Imogen O’Shannessy has had a whirlwind couple of years and it’s not about to abate – in fact it will all get busier.
The 18-year-old born-and-bred Geelong local has been nominated for the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards in the Saward Dawson Community Service and Social Impact category and it’s not difficult to see why.
While Imogen advocates for all youth, she is particularly involved with helping other queer members of the community.
As Imogen can attest, life is not always easy for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly in regional areas.
Imogen came out as queer at a young age, although many people still don’t know what the word actually means.
“I would say that queer is just an umbrella term for LGBTQIA+ people,” Imogen says.
“I guess it’s a quicker way to say it first of all, and it’s also more that queer obviously used to be an offensive term. So I think it’s sort of the community’s way of reclaiming that word and making it our own of being like, well, people are going to call us queer.
“Let’s make it our own and use an umbrella term to describe anyone under this community. And I think that it’s also if you don’t know exactly what your identity is yet, but you know that you are in the community, it’s a good way to easily say it.”
Imogen has served with City of Greater Geelong’s Rainbow Youth Advisory Group, Youth Hub Reference Group and the Amplify Committee and was a youth councillor in 2022.
The list doesn’t end there, though.
Imogen’s advocacy extends into civic leadership programs that provide platforms for youth-driven policy influence.
Imogen participated in the YMCA Victoria’s Youth Parliament program, on the Y Geelong team in 2024 and returned in 2025 as part of the Geelong Youth Parliament team, where she contributed to the development and passing of youth-created bills and statewide discussions on issues affecting young people.
“Youth Parliament taught me a lot of public-speaking and debating skills that I didn’t have,” Imogen says.
“I’ve always loved public speaking, but after Youth Parliament, I really saw myself being more confident because when you’re on the program, you speak up about your bills and other people’s bills in Parliament House, in the chambers.”
Imogen also volunteers with the organisation Run For It, supporting young people’s involvement in political engagement and leadership.
She has spent several years contributing to youth participation committees, groups and programs within the City of Greater Geelong, working to strengthen belonging, representation and opportunity for local young people. She was an inaugural member of the Rainbow Youth Advisory Group, advising on LGBTQIA+ inclusion in Geelong council programs and spaces and is chair of the local Amplify Committee, leading a team of young people dedicated to planning drug, smoke and alcohol-free arts and music events within the Greater Geelong area.
Imogen is currently a member of the VicSRC Student Executive Advisory Committee, where she recently served as the Ambassadors Liaison.
“I started with VIC SRC in 2024 and a big part of that was being part of their senior secondary advisory panel, which basically was in helping to inform the government on their ongoing senior secondary reforms,” she says.
“So I basically work directly with the organisation and stakeholders in the Department of Education to help them determine the best way to go about the new reforms, because obviously in 2023 the reforms happened with VCAL and VCVM.
“But now I am on their main executive committee. This means I work directly with the Adult Board of Trustees.”
In her spare time, if there is any, Imogen does pageants and modelling. She will head to San Antonio, Texas as Oceania’s representative for the Teen Division at the Ultimate International Miss competition.
However, Imogen’s true passion at the moment is her social enterprise Be Loud & Queer, which aims to share stories and raise the voices of queer people.
“I started it as that for a pageant that I was a finalist in because it was an area that I knew that I was very well versed in,” she says.
“And I think since I started it, it’s very much developed into something new and something I wasn’t really expecting it to be. Be Loud & Queer’s goal is basically to amplify and raise the voices of queer people, particularly young people, on the journey towards worldwide acceptance.”
As Imogen heads into Year 12 this year, school wasn’t something that came naturally, especially during the pandemic. Waning attendance and a loss of interest meant Imogen was told she would have to repeat Year 10.
“My attendance got very bad in Year 10,” she says.
“It was bad since the pandemic really and they told me I’d have to repeat a year. They put me on this plan where I would do some Year 10 subjects.”
That worked well for a while, but Imogen discovered that mainstream schooling might not be the best fit.
“I made the decision later that year to leave (secondary school) and head to The Gordon (TAFE). I passed Year 11 last year at The Gordon, so I’m heading into Year 12 this year.
“It’s more catered towards less students that could really help me with what I need.”
After her initial schooling, Imogen sees a career in social work.
“I want to be a youth worker,” she says.
“I think that I’m always going to be in this space in some regard, even when I age out. Because I’m gaining that lived experience in the advocacy space and on advisory committees, I can help use that experience to help young people in the future.
“I think at the moment I have my eyes on youth justice case management. I just want to help young people, particularly those involved in the justice system, to be better versions of themselves.
“And I think a lot of that comes from experiences that I had of my own growing up, you know, being with the court system and everything.”
While LGBTQIA+ people are generally more accepted in the mainstream community these days, Imogen says there is still a long way to go, particularly for those living in regional areas, including Greater Geelong.
“I think to a certain extent (it has got better), but I think that sometimes it can feel like we’re going backwards,” she says.
“I do think that there are some people that are very much set in their ways, though, and I think that there are some people that you can’t change.
“As a whole, particularly this country, it’s getting better, but particularly in Geelong, it’s not as easy.
“Maybe it could be because the population’s a lot skewed to the older generation in a lot of places, but I think that in Geelong it can be particularly difficult.
“Although the council and other organisations are doing a lot, I think that the general public viewpoint is still not amazing, particularly for trans people.”
“A lot of work still needs to be done, particularly in Geelong and other regional communities.”
