Leading his College while pursuing an AFL dream

Ask most Year 12 students what they did over the weekend and you might hear about study, sport or catching up with friends. 

For Nate Howson, School Captain at Corpus Christi College Maroubra, weekends mean travelling interstate to play football. 

On Friday, while many students are winding down from another week of classes, Nate is heading to the airport. 

He'll fly from Sydney to Adelaide, pull on the North Adelaide Roosters jersey and line up in the SANFL U18s on Saturday. By Saturday night, he's back on a plane to Sydney. 

Then comes Sunday. 

The footy boots are put away. The school books come out. There are assessments to finish, HSC preparation to stay on top of and another week of Year 12 waiting on Monday morning. 

It's a routine that demands discipline and time management. Yet when Nate talks about what has helped him manage Year 12, he points to the small things. 

"The main thing school and leadership has taught me which has translated to the footy field has been taking pride in the 'small and mundane things'," Nate said. 

On the field, that might mean a clean pick-up off the ground, making the extra run, putting in one more repetition at training or getting the handball away under pressure. 

At school, it looks a little different. 

Saying hello in the playground. Showing up with the right attitude. Good manners. Helping someone without being asked. Taking pride in how you present yourself and how you treat the people around you. 

Those small actions are also at the heart of Nate's approach to leadership. 

"Whilst leadership is often put up in shining lights, I have learnt throughout my time as Captain that the bulk of leadership is made from the small things you do, especially when no one is watching," Nate said. 

"I think being able to keep a balance and have a crack in every facet – school, footy and leadership – is what I hope to be most proud of at the end of the year." 

His College has also played an important role in helping him manage the demands of football alongside his studies. 

“Corpus Christi has been unreal in helping me balance elite AFL demands with studies and leadership commitments,” Nate said.  

Staff have worked with Nate to accommodate interstate travel, assessment deadlines and missed classroom time, including providing lessons digitally when he is travelling. 

“The school has also been so amazing in understanding sometimes I can’t submit work on time due to travel commitments, and they have delivered lessons digitally in a manner I can follow whilst travelling, which has really helped me keep up to date.” 

For Nate, faith provides another source of perspective. 

The Gospel values at the heart of his education have helped shape the way he views both success and disappointment. 

“Core Gospel teachings like seeking God’s approval rather than human approval, have encouraged me and helped me through bad games,” Nate said. 

As Nate enters the final stretch of Year 12 and prepares for the HSC, there are still exams to sit, games to play and responsibilities to fulfil. 

When he looks back on 2026, Nate hopes he can say he gave his all to each part of his final year — school, footy and leadership — without letting one come at the expense of another. 

 For a year shaped by big ambitions, it is a lesson he keeps returning to: often, it is the smallest things that make the biggest difference.