By Victoria Stone-Meadows
Almost 300 students were recognised for their hard work in their VCE years with the 2017 Premier Awards announced on Thursday 27 April.
Included in the high achievers was Cranbourne resident and former student of Hillcrest Christian College Danielle McAleese.
Ms McAleese achieved a score of 50 – the highest study score possible – in English for the VCE subject.
She said Year 12 was no walk in the park and it was thanks to her dedicated English teacher that she was able to achieve her impressive results.
“Year 12 was pretty stressful, I will admit,” she said.
“But for me, English was something I wanted to do well in and had been doing well in previously so, in Year 11 I had the same teacher for Year 12 and we started working towards the Year 12 exam in Year 11.”
Hillcrest VCE English teacher Luke Davis taught Ms McAleese English for three years and said she was a great student to work with.
“By Year 11 she was already so far ahead and almost ready to do the exam,” he said.
“She was always helping and teaching other kids in class – I even felt like I was team teaching at times.”
Mr Davis says he is very proud of what Ms McAleese has achieved and it’s always a good feeling as a teacher to have your student’s hard work and dedication recognised.
“It was a bit surprising when I got the letter in the mail,” Ms McAleese said.
“I thought there are thousands of students across the state that must have scored really highly so it was very humbling to receive the award.”
Ms McAleese is currently studying arts and law at Monash University and plans to become a lawyer one day.
She had some advice for others facing the daunting task of completing their VCE in this year and in coming years.
“I would tell them to try not to stress too much,” she said.
“I know it’s hard but it’s important to remember that at the end of the day your ATAR doesn’t define you. I know how much of a cliche that is but it’s very true.”
“There are so many different options if you don’t get the ATAR you need so I urge Year 12 students to enjoy your last year of high school and try not to stress so much about exams.”
