99.50 | Subject merits in Economics HL, Biology HL, Chemistry HL, Mathematics Analysis and Approaches SL, Chinese B SL
What are your post-secondary ambitions?
I hope to study a degree in medicine after graduating and eventually become a doctor, I find the intricacy and complexity of the human body so fascinating, and I was drawn specifically to medicine because of the direct, immediate, and long-lasting impacts that doctors can have on their patients.
What were some academic highlights for you?
Completing my extended essay in biology was definitely the pinnacle of my academic experience, it was something that I had devoted probably hundreds of hours towards over the year, but also something that I got so much out of. In the week before it was due I had to cut my essay down from 8000 words to 4000 words, which was one of the toughest challenges I have had to overcome academically this year, but I am so grateful for my supervisor Dr Hu making so much time throughout the year to assist me with writing my essay. Immediately after submitting my essay I said that research was something I would never do again, but reflecting on it now I can really appreciate the resilience and diligence that this process has taught me, and in fact I do see myself conducting more research in future.
I loved going to school every day and learning things that genuinely interested me, and not just knowing the facts, but also understanding the hows and whys behind them. In particular, Mr Bailey in year 9 and Ms Mats and Ms Christie in year 10 showed me a completely different perspective to English and really got the subject to ‘click’ with me, and Mr Madden and Mr Russo’s science classes in years 8 and 9 were some of the most interesting and fun classes that I have experienced, and were what instilled my deep love of science which I hope to continue in future.
What advice would you give to the Year 12 cohort for 2025?
My biggest piece of advice would be to do things for yourself, and because you want to do them - don’t rely on extrinsic motivation. Throughout my schooling, my parents never pressured me to do anything or set me any specific expectations, and I think that it is because everything that I did was of my own choosing that I was able to engage so meaningfully and get so much out of my time at PAC. Understanding and appreciating how lucky I was to be at a school such as this really pushed me to make the most out of this education and all of the opportunities and experiences that it brought, and so I think that it is crucial for future students to set high expectations for yourself, so that you can achieve what you personally want to achieve, and not what others want you to achieve. Enjoy the process.
I think a large part of this comes with maturity, but also surrounding yourself with the right people. Max Whittle has always pushed me to improve since year 7, and even though we had no classes together during years 11 and 12, having similar goals meant he was a constant source of inspiration for me, and I would not have achieved as highly had I not been around him as much, and so finding someone that you look up to and can seek advice from is crucial in achieving your goals. For me this also involved reaching out to an adult mentor, Mr Harradine, who regularly checked up on me and held me accountable, especially towards the latter half of year 12, and this helped me stay in the moment and keep sight of my goals.
I’d also recommend setting yourself what Mrs Williams calls ‘soft lines’, which are deadlines that you set yourself and hold yourself accountable for that are well before the actual deadline set by your teacher, for any given assignment or test. This means that by the time your assignments are actually due, you’re not scrambling to finish them off to the detriment of their quality, but rather you have time to refine and seek feedback on your work, and ensure that they are as best as they can be. This no doubt requires a lot of organisation and discipline, and is something that I wish I did earlier with my extended essay, but learning from this experience meant that all my other internal assessments were a lot more streamlined, and only on 2 occasions throughout the year did I have to stay up past 9:00pm to finish off an assignment, which in turn minimised the impacts on my next day at school.
Another Mrs Williams quote is that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop”, and this basically means to keep yourself busy and occupied, otherwise you will inevitably get distracted and waste time; it happens to everyone. Not once do I remember engaging in cocurricular pursuits being detrimental to my studies, and if anything, it gave me well-needed respite from my studies which made me more efficient and enjoy the learning process even more.