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Fintona's 2022 Dux, Keira, achieved an ATAR of 99.8. Beyond this score and throughout her eight years at Fintona, Keira exhibited the highest standards as a learner, giving her all to both academic and co-curricular pursuits.
Can you describe the moment you found out your result?
I was sitting on my bed, and the moment I found out my result I screamed so loudly that I woke my sister up. The first thing I did after that was run into my parents’ room, and they were really happy for me too. I was definitely surprised by my result, it was a lot higher than I hoped for, so it kind of felt like shock, relief and happiness all mixed together.
What are you plans for the next steps in your education and future?
I’m planning on studying a Bachelor of Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne, and then completing a postgraduate degree somewhere in the health field. I haven’t decided exactly what yet, but I think it’s the fact that as a healthcare worker, you get to see so many people who are at their most vulnerable and you’re able to play even just a small role in their healing process, which makes me really want to pursue this career. The result itself didn’t really change my plans, but I’m still very grateful that I have the opportunity to hopefully turn these plans into a reality.
How are you feeling now that you have had time for your result to ‘sink in’?
I’m feeling incredibly grateful for all the teachers and staff members who have supported me. I think the one thing I will never forget from this year, and from Fintona, is just how much the teachers here care about us. And you can see that in everything they do, from their enthusiasm even during period 6 classes, to their encouragement during times when I was struggling, to agreeing to meetings even when they have mountains of other work to do. I really do think it’s the teachers who have made this year so so special, and there is no way I would have achieved what I did without them, so I just wanted say a huge thank you in particular to Mr Stringer, Mr Williams, Mrs McKinnon, Mrs Burdan, Ms Bereza and Mrs Devlyn, my amazing unit 3/4 teachers, and Ms Maglitto, my Tutor teacher!
What did you value most throughout your time at Fintona?
Definitely the friendships I made. Everyone in my year level was so supportive, and I think we really helped motivate each other to become better and were there for each other when things got hard, which was really nice. Also, just all the opportunities I got to try out new things I’d never done, or would have thought of doing before, like the rowing unit in sport or being part of the Da Vinci Decathlon team. Even though the chance of me becoming a rower is something like negative 10%, it was still really fun to hop in a boat and experience the sport for myself, and I think that encouraging participation is something that Fintona does really well, and something that was really valuable to me throughout my time here.
Do you have any advice for future Year 12 students?
I don’t think I’m in a position to give advice, but I will say one of my favourite quotes which helped me a lot during my studies – “Efforts will lie, but will never be in vain. It is precisely because efforts lie that we are prompted to think about how to work hard in a different way and find the correct direction in which to expend our efforts.” I also think that it’s so important to keep doing the things that you love and that make you happy.
