Celebrating the Class of 2022

‘My first highlight of the year was rowing – I got to do it with an awesome crew of girls, and we won Head of the River! We won two years in a row, which felt like pure euphoria. It also felt like relief – the second time around there was the expectation that we would do well…

My second highlight was being a House Captain – a lot of work, but a lot of fun, and I got to do all of that with my peers, which is the best part.

This year, I’ve forged great friendships with the Learning in Residence students. It’s been cool to hear their different stories - the country kids, and Harriet from Abu Dhabi! They stay with my family a lot on the weekends.

I also got involved with the Junior School’s ‘Wonderous World’ science project, mentoring two brilliant Year 3 girls who insisted on investigating slime. It was awesome – they brought this wonder to learning that’s sometimes lost in Senior School.’

‘I started playing piano at age five or six and then picked up more instruments along the way: guitar, percussion, drums, and singing. It’s amazing how in the span of five days, I can go from a music rehearsal with amazing musicians, to running training, to a theatre rehearsal; they’re all so rewarding, and I often think about how lucky I am to be at Wesley and be able to do all of these things at once.

It's been hard to balance my time with rehearsals every night and weekend commitments, as well as all my study, but that challenge has brought a sense of joy because I find when I’m really busy and I’m surrounded by people also doing the things I love it makes everything really easy.

A highlight for me this year was winning an ‘Outstanding Soloist Award’ for jazz piano at the All-State Jazz Competition. I got to play with professional musicians at the Gala Concert and experience what being a jazz muso might be like.’

‘As Wesmob Prefect, I’ve headed the reconciliation movement, ensuring visibility and celebration of our local Indigenous people, culture and language. It’s an area I’ve always been really passionate about - not just focussing on the inequalities and justices, but more on celebrating the richness and diversity within our country – the unique knowledge and understanding of our land that has the capacity to solve many of the problems we face.

I started debating because I get nervous with public speaking. I have the habit of doing the things that really scare me to prove to myself I can do them! When it comes to issues I care about, I learnt that you can sound serious and you can sound passionate – you don’t have to water it down.

All the different cocurricular opportunities at Wesley… I’ve tried most things, including plays, musicals, choir, sport and debating. I’ve really enjoyed those experiences and I’ve been able to find what calls my name. In my experience, it’s doing all those other things that makes school memorable.’

‘At Wesley, you’re really encouraged to do what you want to do. I’ve gone into lots of things and having the flexibility to do that has been really special.

I represented the College on the Monash Youth Advisory Council – a committee of young people working with our local State MP on youth issues. You learn a lot from listening to other people and how they approach things – it gives you a perspective outside of your own little bubble.

Some of my fondest memories come from rowing. It shows you don’t have to be the best athlete in the world to have fun! The social side appealed to me; you spend so much time together as a crew and you form unique and special relationships.

As Senior House Prefect this year, organising House events has been such a rewarding experience. After the lockdowns, I wanted a year when everyone could get involved and interact with each other again.’

‘A highlight of my year was being School Captain. Just to help people out has been really rewarding. To be a good leader is to be yourself: it’s not the badge that makes you a leader, it’s who you are.

Another highlight was being part of the choir. It’s a great way to meet new people, have fun and you improve your skills as you go along. Performing at the Winter Concert at the Recital Centre was incredible!

Also, I was in the Volleyball Firsts this year. It was amazing to win the premiership for the first time for Wesley. The culture of the team was amazing, as was the win! To hold that cup…

I started doing theatre at Wesley in Year 5. Something I really cherish from the theatre program is learning to connect with so many different people, whether it be the Year 4s or Year 12s from past years.’

‘What I love about Wesley is that it’s such a diverse place. The idea for ‘Jewnion’, the student group I started, was that it would be a celebration of Jewish culture that Jewish and non-Jewish kids alike could be a part of. That’s what’s happened, and our non-Jewish members are almost more excited about it than our Jewish members! When it started, I thought there’d be just a couple of people… we had a club day where we had sign-ups and 60 people came along! Our first ‘Jewnion’ was huge – like a festival.

Wesley is the place to have a ‘leave-no-stone-unturned’ mentality because there’s so much opportunity everywhere you look. As a Wesley student, you’re meant to be doing all these things, and they accommodate for it! Debating, Jewnion, your classes, the play… there’s community wherever you go and people supporting you, celebrating your wins with you and bringing you back up when you’re not doing well.’