As Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) Year 12 students prepare to graduate this Friday 18 November 2022, Mary MacKillop College Nundah student and Penola House Captain Emily England reflects on some of the highlights of her senior years and details her ambitions for life after school.
Emily England:
At the conclusion of last year, I received the Penola House captain role for 2022. Through the support of all teachers at Mary MacKillop College (MMC) – especially Ms Griffiths and Ms Devine – they were all imperative to ensure I could achieve my best in my curricular and extra-curricular activities across my senior schooling.
In achieving the House captain role, I was able to, alongside my co-captain, achieve greatness within a small community of MMC. This role has enabled me to grow into supporting those in need, especially with our initiative to begin work with Youngcare. I was able to encompass compassion, integrity, and gratitude with influence from those around me, especially my friends who have shaped me into the person I am today.
While embarking on an ATAR pathway, I was able to overcome many obstacles across senior schooling including ACL reconstruction surgery. This time was challenging as I was disconnected from friends and schooling, although this was a time of uncertainty, I was able to confront the challenges and achieve greatness in my five general subjects – General Mathematics, English, Study of Religion, Physical Education and Biology, while also completing a Certificate III in Health Services Assistance.
As I found myself within the health industry, I applied and was fortunate enough to receive an early entry position at the Australian Catholic University (ACU) to complete a four-year undergraduate course in Bachelor of Nursing and Paramedicine. In this highly demanding and rewarding course, I look forward to embarking on a new chapter at the ACU Brisbane campus. I hope to then apply my experience to the public and private systems of emergency nursing across Australia.
My advice for younger students is to have a balance. Have a balance between a social life with friends and family and studying for your subjects. Don’t always consume your life with books because the people who achieve the most success go through life experiences. Having to overcome challenges and learning from them is the best way to achieve personal success.
I am so incredibly thankful to all my teachers across my six years of high school for their unconditional kindness and support. Without this, I would not have been able to receive outstanding results and early acceptance into university. Finally, thank you to my parents and sister for their unwavering love and guidance throughout the last 17 years.