Academically, my time at CGS has allowed me to develop my confidence as a learner, providing me with the skills and knowledge to be ready for the world. Since joining Canberra Grammar in 2022, I believe I have had sustained academic success, which has continued into my final years of Senior School. Academic success, in my opinion, shouldn’t have a sole focus on the final mark or ATAR you are given at the end of your schooling. Whilst it’s a rewarding feeling to achieve high results and I am consistently striving to achieve higher marks across my subjects, I believe it’s about the effort, dedication and resilience you demonstrate along the way. It’s about being well-rounded across all aspects of your life, and how many times you show up and continue to persevere despite the challenges and setbacks you face. This is a core lesson I have learnt at school and is something I will continue to hold myself to in my future careers.
A proud achievement of mine is completing Higher Level Physics as part of my IB Diploma, as the subject requires a hard and sustained work ethic to achieve results. Without the support of my physics teacher and tutor, Dr Pask, who provided me with the support I needed to improve my grade and abilities, I wouldn’t have been able to undertake such a challenge. Choosing IB Physics has developed my work ethic, resilience and confidence in myself as it has shown me that I can do challenging things.
CGS has provided me with various leadership opportunities and experiences that have made me ready for the world. Notably, in Year 10, I had the opportunity to travel to Nepal with the REACH for Nepal foundation, where we spent two weeks hiking in the Himalayas and providing humanitarian assistance to a remote school outside of Pokhara. This experience completely changed me as an individual, as it allowed me to see what the world is like, and how incredibly lucky I am to be able to attend such an opportunity-rich school. My two leadership achievements I am most proud of at Canberra Grammar School are my leadership as a Year 7 Snow House Senior in Year 11, and my role as Vice-Captain of Jones House in Year 12. I was very proud and honoured to be offered these leadership opportunities as it demonstrated to me that I had the skills, abilities and values needed to lead my peers. These roles have helped me to improve my leadership style, qualities and abilities, as well as having a substantial influence on my character development. I’ve learnt how important clear communication and effective collaboration skills are when being a leader, setting me up for university and my future career. Additionally, it brought me so much joy to see how much of an influence and support I provided to people through my leadership, with my most cherished memory being when some of my year 7’s said in a speech at the end of the year how grateful they were for my supportive and guiding nature, which made them feel welcomed into the Senior School.
The support and flexibility offered at CGS allowed me to pursue my co-curricular endeavours both inside and outside of school. The variety of activities and co-curriculars offered at CGS allowed me to branch out and find what I am most interested in. My time at CGS saw me play the saxophone, join CGS Water Polo and represent the school four years in a row at ASC and ACT Cross Country. The support and flexibility offered by the CGS Winter Sport Programme allowed me to play AFL with Eastlake Football Club, a club affiliated with CGS. Across the four years from playing with Eastlake, I was co-captain of the U14s, co-captain of the 16s and now, I’m co-captain of the Rising Stars’ 18s Team. I have also recently been contracted to play first-grade AFL with the Women’s programme. Playing first-grade AFL has been my most significant achievement in my life at this School and has been a long-term goal of mine since year 9. Playing first-grade reflects my hard work and dedication to developing my AFL skills and is something I am incredibly proud of. This achievement strengthened and developed me personally as it highlighted how important it is to persevere through challenges and to ‘turn up’, connecting back to my earlier reflection on the core lessons I learnt at CGS.
Balancing playing for two AFL teams, my schoolwork, my part-time job, my leadership commitments, maintaining a social life, and other activities has proved challenging during my final years in Senior School. However, the support and study skills offered by CGS teachers and tutors have helped me to develop my time management, planning and study skills, all of which are key skills needed for my future endeavours in university.
Overall, these experiences, opportunities and lessons I have learnt during my time at CGS have left a lasting impact on my personal character. It has helped shape my core values and developed my skills in all aspects of my life. Therefore, I can confidently say CGS has helped me to be ready for the world
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