WHEN Layne Morgan was attending St Paul's Catholic College in Booragul there was no women's rugby union team.
She snuck out to play with Hunter Sports High and even got into trouble for it.
But on Friday, she returned to her old stomping ground to share her success of becoming halfback for the Australian Wallaroos and inspire other young women at the school's annual International Women's Day breakfast on March 8.
"Be resilient, be inclusive of your friends playing sports and make sure you stand up, use your voice when you need it and don't lose that female prowess in amongst everything you do," she said.
"Keep your stripes in jobs, careers, sport - just own being a female and let that help you find your passion."
Year 11 student Cerys Smith was inspired by Ms Morgan's speech after growing up playing sport.
"I could definitely relate," she said.
Classmate Cleo Doyle said every year she was inspired by the guest speakers that come to the school and enjoyed hearing from Ms Morgan and CEO of Australian Indigenous Doctors Association (AIDA) Donna Burns.
"Donna and Layne are so powerful and were really inspiring for us as young women to take their knowledge and put that into our own journeys at school and then for what we want to do beyond," she said.
Ms Burns' message to the young women was "we shouldn't just be everywhere as women, but we need to be everywhere as women because of what we bring to the table".
"This [event] is an absolute highlight of the year to be able to talk to young women and to be able to sit in what is our strength," she said.
Newcastle marked International Women's Day with small celebrations in workplaces and schools for this year's theme Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress'.
City of Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes hosted her annual morning tea at City Hall on Friday morning with guest speaker and Ian & Shirley Norman Foundation CEO Coralie Nichols.
"I think if anything the International Women's Day theme for 2024 reminds us to approach life with a genuine desire to understand and to acknowledge that every one holds a piece of the larger puzzle," she said.
"Let us all do better at holding space for others. We create an environment where everyone feels the love and thrives in their own skin."
"Let's do more than just inspire inclusion. Let's actually believe ... and let's live it."
In other activities a panel of discussion was held at The Creator Incubator in Hamilton on Friday night and a roller-skating evening was hosted at Cooks Hill where people could skate along to some girl power anthems.
