Amanda, from Dunfermline, overcame shyness and a lack of confidence in herself to speak up on a range of issues which matter to young people.
Having lived in various places as a young child – her Nigerian-born mum and dad, who moved to Scotland in 2002, are a public health researcher and university lecturer respectively - she often had to get used to new schools and new friends.
Becoming a Girl Guide helped her confidence enormously, and she is now a member of the Girlguiding Advocate Panel, a group of 18 young women from across the UK who speak up on issues affecting girls and young women.
She has presented to business bosses on gender bias, campaigned against racism and helped inspire girls to take STEM subjects at school.
Amanda is also an awardwinning writer – in 2017, she won the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) competition, writing about problems concerning food waste in Scotland and potential solutions.
“I have heard in particular from some young black and ethnic minority women, who wanted to get involved in volunteering because they saw me doing it and realised it could be for them, too,” she explains. “I think if you don’t see someone like yourself doing these things, you maybe won’t feel it is something you can do. If other young black women see me and they feel inspired then that is a great thing.”
unknownx500
